teachingofpriestscannotbetheultimatecauseofmoralimprovement。Yetnoone，itmightbesupposed，couldexplainthehistoryofthewarlikesentimentinEuropewithouttakingintoaccounttheinfluenceembodiedinthechurch。ThattheCatholicchurchrepresentedagreatprincipleofcohesion；thatitwasanorganisationwhichenabledthemenofintellecttoexerciseaninfluenceoversemi-barbarouswarriors，areadmittedfactswhichthehistorianisatleastboundtoconsider。Atwhateverperiodthebodymayhavebecomecorrupt，itisanessentialfactinthesocialprocesseswhichprecededtheinventionofgunpowder，andcertainlythediscoveriesofWattandAdamSmith。Buckle，asarule，treatsthechurchsimplyasanupholderofsuperstition。Heridiculesthehistorianswhobelievedinabsurdmiraclesin’whatarerightlytermedthedarkages，’52*anddeclaressummarilythat’untildoubtbegan，progresswasimpossible。’YetBucklewouldcertainlyhaveadmittedthattherewassomeprogressbetweentheheptarchyandthereformation。
Thetruthwhichhismethodcompelshimtoneglectseemstobeobvious。Themovementofreligiousthoughtrepresentsforcesnottobemeasuredbythequantityofeffetesuperstitionswhichitcontains。Thereligioncorrespondstothedevelopmentoftheinstinctswhichdeterminethewholesocialstructure。Thegeneralmoralaxioms——loveyourneighbour，andsoforth——may，asBuckleurges，remainunaltered；butthechangeintheidealsoflifeandthewholeattitudeofmentoeachothertakesplaceinthereligioussphere。IfChristianitydoesnotcorrespondtoaforceimposedfromwithout，itmaystillcorrespondtotheprocessesofthoughtbywhichsympathyhasextendedandmenbeendrawnintocomparativeunityandharmony。Totreatthepowerofreligionassimplyaproductofignorantsuperstitionistobeunabletounderstandthehistoryoftheworld。SomuchBucklemighthavelearnedfromComteinspiteofthelatervagariesofpositivism。
AnothercollateralconclusionmarksBuckle’sposition。Asahistorianofpoliticalprogressheisconstantlydwellingupontheimportanceofindividualaction。ThetolerantpolicyofRichelieu，thedespoticsystemofLouisXIV，andsoforth，arethegreataidsorimpedimentstohumanprogress。Howisthisreconcilablewiththedoctrinesthatindividualactionisnothingandthespontaneousgrowthofknowledgeeverything？Inanswerwearereferredtothegreatgeneralcauses，ortotheprotectivespiritorthespiritoftheage，whichreallygovernthewholeprocessinspiteofsuperficialandtransitorycauses。Whatpreciselyismeantbytheseabstractions？Towhatdoestheprotectivespiritinpoliticsoweitsmalignpersistence？What，inshort，isthesourceandtruenatureofthepowerofgovernment？Theansweris，thattoSuckle，astotheUtilitarians，governmentrepresentsakindofexternalforce；
somethingimposeduponthepeoplefromwithout；a’sovereign，’inAustin’ssense，whocanneveroriginateorimpel，thoughhecancoerceandsuppress。HechoosesthehistoryofEnglandforhissubject，ashetellsus，becauseEnglandhasbeen’lessaffectedthananyothercountrybythetwomainsourcesofinterference，namely，theauthorityofgovernmentandtheinfluenceofforeigners。’53*Botharetreatedas’interferences’fromwithout，whichdistortthenaturaldevelopment。Englishhistoryisinterestingnotbecauseitspoliticalconstitutionisamostcharacteristicoutgrowthofitssocialstate，butbecauseallgovernmentissimplyaninterference，andinEnglandhashadaminimuminfluence。Consistentlywiththis，heattackstheopinionthatprogresshaseverbeenduetogovernment。Governmentis，ofcourse，necessarytopunishcrimeandpreventanarchy；54*butevenitssuccessfuleffortsare’altogethernegative’；and，evenwhereitsintentionshavebeengood，ithasbeengenerallyinjurious。Briefly，governmentispowerfulforevil，andtheoneprincipleisthatrulersshouldhavea’verylittle’powerandexerciseit’verysparingly。’55*Attimesheisinclinedtodenyallinfluencetogovernment。SpeakingofScotland，heremarksthatthoughbadgovernmentcanbeextremelyinjuriousforatime，itcan’producenopermanentmischief。’56*’Solongasthepeoplearesound，’hesays，’thereislifeandwillbereaction……Butifthepeopleareunsoundallhopeisgoneandthenationperishes。’What，then，makesthepeople’sound’？Isnotthisatacitadmissionoftheimportanceofthemoralfactor？
Hasnotthereligionofanationsomeinfluence，andsometimesperhapsaninfluenceforgood，uponitsmorality？PuritanisminScotlandwasassociatedwithgrosssuperstition；wasitnotalsoanexpressionofthemoralconvictionswhichpreservedthe’soundness’oftherace？CatholicisminSpainisstill，accordingtoBuckle，associatedwithahighmoralstandard；butthishas’availedtheSpaniards’nothing，57*becauseithassuppressedintellectualprogress。Ithassurelybeenofsomeuseifithaspreservedtheirvirtue。But，inanycase，whatistheexplanationofthepowerofgovernmentwhichcanthusdestroythe’soundness’