Page:John Adams - A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America Vol. I. (1787).djvu/167

Rh uch an ambly will, upon the firt day of its exitence, be an aritocracy; in a few days, or years at leat, an oligarchy; and then it will oon divide into two or three parties, who will oon have as many armies; and, when the battle is decided, the victorious general will govern without or with the advice of any council or aembly, as he pleaes: or, if the aembly continues united, they will in time exclude the people from all hare even in elections, and make the government hereditary in a few families. In order to be fully convinced of this, we mut take an extenive view of the ubject; and the firt enquiry hould be, what kind of beings men are? You and I admire the fable of Tritram Shandy more than the fable of the Bees, and agree with Butler rather than Hobbes. It is weaknes rather than wickednes which renders men unfit to be truted with unlimited power. The paions are all unlimited; nature has left them o: if they could be bounded, they would be extinct; and there is no doubt they are of indipenable importance in the preent ytem. They certainly increae too, by exercie, like the body. The love of gold grows fater than the heap of acquiition: the love of praie increaes by every gratification, till it tings like an adder, and bites like a erpent; till the man is mierable every moment when he does not nuff the incene: ambition trengthens at every advance, and at lat takes poeion of the whole oul o abolutely, that the man ees nothing in the world of importance to others, or himelf, but in his object. The ubtilty of thee three paions, which have been elected from all the others becaue they are aritocratical paions, in ubduing all others, and