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 ¬they are sometimes, if not always, the sources of the varieties which distinguish them. ¬" It is on this account only that I must lead you by paths now neglected and almost for- gotten, into the great road to the eventful period which embraces you as one of ourselves. ¬" The policy forced upon those numerous na- tions, as they were in their turns invaders or driven onwards by successive myriads, was a mixture of military command and civil magis- tracy. — With the sword continually in their hands, the service of it became the tenure of their possessions, and in a descending line from their leaders to the undistinguished multitude, they were held together by an indissoluble bond of union, giving law and protection to one another. ¬" It must be admitted that the governments I have been describing had a strong tendency to- wards arbitrary monarchies, an opinion con- ¬d 2 firmed ¬