Page:John Adams - A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America Vol. I. (1787).djvu/14

vi were mater-pieces of cunning; the dupes only bluhed, the villains mot impudently triumphed. The ource of ail thee evils is a thirt of power, from rapacious or ambitious paions. The men of large influence, ome contending for the jut equality of the democratical, and others for the fair decorum of aritocratical government, by artful ounds, embarraed thoe communities, for their own private lucre, by the keenet pirit, the mot daring projects, and mot dreadful machinations. Revenge, not limited by jutice or the public welfare, was meaured only by uch retaliation as was judged the weetet—by capital condemnations, by iniquitous entences, and by glutting the preent rancour of their hearts with their own hands. The pious and upright conduct was on both ides diregarded: the moderate citizens fell victims to both. Seditions introduced every pecies of outrageous wickednes into the Grecian manners. Sincerity was laughed out of countenance: the whole order of human life was confounded: the human temper, too apt to trangres in pite of laws, now having gained the acendant over law, eemed to glory that it was too trong for jutice, and an enemy to all uperiority.—Mr. Hume has collected, from Diodorus Siculus alone, a few maacres which happened in only ixty of the mot polihed years of Greece:—From Sybaris 500 nobles banihed; of Chians, 600 citizens; at Epheus, 340 killed, 1000 banihed of Cyrenians, 500 nobles killed, all