Page:John Adams - A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America Vol. I. (1787).djvu/157

Rh the qualities which contitute the natural foundations of authority; uch as benevolence, widom, and power: and all the adventitious attractions of repect; uch as riches, ancetry, and peronal merit. All eyes arc turned upon him for their preident or peaker.—The econd diviion comprehends a third, or a quarter, or, if you will, a ixth or an eighth of the whole; and conits of thoe who have the mod to boat of reembling their head.—In the third clas are all the ret, who are nearly on a level in undertanding, and in all things. Such an aembly has in it, not only all the perons of the nation who are mot eminent for parts and virtues, but all thoe who are mot inflamed with ambition and avarice, and who are mot vain a their decent. Thee latter will of coure contantly endeavour to increae their own influence, by exaggerating all the attributes they poes, and by augmenting them in every way they can think of; and will have friends, whole only chance for riing into public view will be under their protection, who will even be more active and zealous than themelves in their ervice. Notwithtanding all the equality that can ever be hoped for among men, it is eay to ee that the third clas will in general be but humble imitators and followers of the econd. Every man in the econd clas will have contantly about him a circle of members of the third, who will be his admirers; perhaps afraid of his influence in the ditricts they repreent, related to him by blood, connected with him in trade, or dependent upon him for favours. There will be much envy too, among individuals of the econd clas, againt the peaker, although a incere veneration is hewn him by the majority, and great external repect by all. I aid there would