BENEDICT DE SPINOZA: Theological-Political Treatise

Sovereign powers and religion
absent rather than dead. Then, in the second commonwealth the priests
held this authority absolutely, having acquired control of the government
as well as the priesthood. Therefore, the right of the priesthood always
rested upon the edict of the sovereign power, and the priests never held
it except in conjunction with [their own] control of the government.
Earlier, authority over sacred matters was in fact absolutely in the hands
of the kings (as will be clear from what we shall say presently at the end
of this chapter) with only one exception: they were not allowed to turn
their hand to performing the sacred rites in the temple, because everyone
who was not in the genealogy of Aaron was held to be profane. This
sole exception clearly has no place in any Christian state.
[15] We cannot doubt, therefore, that in our day sacred matters remain
under the sole jurisdiction of sovereigns. (The prime requisite for administering
sacred matters is not a person’s family line but rather outstanding
moral qualities; accordingly, one cannot exclude those who hold power on
the ground that they are secular persons.) No one has the right and power 235
without their authority or consent, to administer sacred matters or choose
ministers, or decide and establish the foundations and doctrines of a
church, nor may they [without that consent] give judgments about morality
and observance of piety, or excommunicate or receive anyone into the
church, or care for the poor.
[16] All this has been demonstrated not only to be true, as we have just
shown, but also absolutely essential both to religion itself and to conservation
of the state. Everyone knows how much in£uence right and
authority in sacred matters have with the common people and how much
everyone listens to someone who possesses such authority. I may say that
whoever has this power has the greatest control over the people’s minds.
Therefore, any body which attempts to remove this authority from the
sovereign power, is attempting to divide the government. Con£ict and
discord, like that which occurred between the kings and priests of the
Hebrews in the past, will inevitably ensue and will never be resolved.
Indeed, as I said before, anyone who strives to appropriate this authority
from the sovereign powers is, in e¡ect, preparing a road to power for
himself. For what decisions can sovereigns make if they do not possess this
authority They can assuredly make no decision whatever about war or
peace or anything else, if they are obliged to wait upon the opinion of
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