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Full Idea
At first men had no other kings but gods, and no other government than a theocratic one. ....By the mere fact that a god was placed at the head of every political society, it followed that there were as many gods as there were peoples.
Gist of Idea
In early theocracies the god was the king, and there were as many gods as nations
Source
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (The Social Contract (tr Cress) [1762], IV.8)
Book Ref
Rousseau,Jean-Jacques: 'The Basic Political Writings', ed/tr. Cress,Donald A. [Hackett 1987], p.220
A Reaction
He must be thinking of the Old Testament histories here. (see Spinoza on that!). He says that the modern idea that these were all really the same god is ridiculous.
| 7572 | Power is ordained by God, so anyone who resists power resists God, and will be damned [Paul] |
| 19933 | If religion is law, then piety is justice, impiety is crime, and non-believers must leave [Spinoza] |
| 19938 | Allowing religious ministers any control of the state is bad for both parties [Spinoza] |
| 19849 | In early theocracies the god was the king, and there were as many gods as nations [Rousseau] |
| 7339 | Because human life is what is sacred, Mosaic law has no death penalty for property violations [Johnson,P] |
| 7337 | In Mosaic legal theory, crimes are sins and sins are crimes [Johnson,P] |
| 7825 | The politics of Leibniz was the reunification of Christianity [Stewart,M] |