Page:Back to the Republic.djvu/28

 small body of hereditary nobles. Poland, which is a mixture of aristocracy and monarchy in their worst forms, has been dignified with the same appellation. The government of England, which has one republican branch only, combined with an hereditary aristocracy and monarchy, has, with equal impropriety, been frequently placed on the list of republics. These examples, which are nearly as dissimilar to each other as to a genuine republic, show the extreme inaccuracy with which the term has been used in political disquisitions."

The above quotation indicates how forcefully Madison called attention to the gross misuse of the word "republic" in his day. He was very jealous of the use of the term. He was extremely conscious and justly proud of having played an important part in helping to found the first republic of history. He knew the difference between an autocracy and a republic and he objected to having autocracies spoken of as republics.

He also understood quite clearly the difference between a republic and a democracy. Again, in The Federalist, he said:

"Hence it is that such democracies have ever been spectacles of turbulence and contention; have ever been found incompatible with personal