Page:John Adams - A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America Vol. I. (1787).djvu/139

Rh In Rome, from the time of Romulus to Julius Cæar, the commons were growing by degrees into power, gaining ground upon the patricians, inch by inch, until at lat they quite overturned the balance, leaving all doors open to popular and ambitious men, who detroyed the wiet republic, and enlaved the noblet people, that ever entered on the tage of the world. Polybius tells us, that in the econd punic war, the Carthaginians were declining, becaue the balance was got too much on the ide of the people; whereas the Romans were in their greatet vigour, by the power remaining in the enate. The ambition of private men did by no means begin, or occaion the war, between Pompey and Cæar, though civil dientions never fail to introduce and pirit the ambition of private men; for while the balance of power is equally held, the ambition of private men, whether orators or commanders, gives neither danger nor fear, nor can poibly enlave their country; but that once broken, the divided parties are forced to unite each to its head, under whoe conduct or fortune one ide is at firt victorious, and at lat both are laves. And to put it pat dipute, that the entire ubverion of Roman liberty was altogether owing to thoe meaures, which had broke the balance between the patricians and plebeians, whereof the ambition of private men was but the effect and conequence; we need only conider, that when the uncorrupted part of the enate, by the death of Cæar, had made one great effort to retore their liberty, the ucces did notanwer their hopes; but that whole aembly was o funk in ts authority, that thee patriots were obliged to fly, and give way to the madnes of the people, who by their own tions