The Trial Of Zenger In

Each State Enjoys Sovereign Power.

There Must Be Religion. When That Ligament Is Torn, Society Is Disjointed And Its Members Perish... [t]he Most Important Of All Lessons Is The Denunciation Of Ruin To Every State That Rejects The Precepts Of Religion.

He Asks How The Evil Is To Be Remedied. I Tell Him That There Seems To Be Little Chance For Avoiding The Extremes Of Despotism Or Anarchy; That The Only Ground Of Hope Must Be The Morals Of The People, But That These Are, I Fear, Too Corrupt.

The Reflection And Experience Of Many Years Have Led Me To Consider The Holy Writings Not Only As The Most Authentic And Instructive In Themselves, But As The Clue To All Other History. They Tell Us What Man Is, And They Alone Tell Us Why He Is What He Is: A Contradictory Creature That Seeing And Approving Of What Is Good, Pursues And Performs What Is Evil. All Of Private And Public Life Is There Displayed. ... From The Same Pure Fountain Of Wisdom We Learn That Vice Destroys Freedom; That Arbitrary Power Is Founded On Public Immorality.

[f]or Avoiding The Extremes Of Despotism Or Anarchy . . . The Only Ground Of Hope Must Be On The Morals Of The People. I Believe That Religion Is The Only Solid Base Of Morals And That Morals Are The Only Possible Support Of Free Governments. [t]herefore Education Should Teach The Precepts Of Religion And The Duties Of Man Towards God.