Page:John Adams - A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America Vol. I. (1787).djvu/197

Rh ays, "Men are hung upon riches, not of choice as upon the other, but of neceity and by the teeth: for as much as he who wants bread, is his ervant that will feed him; and if a man thus feeds a whole people, they are under his empire." It already appears, that there mut be in every ociety of men, uperiors and inferiors, becaue God has laid in the contitution and coure of nature the foundations of the ditinction. And indeed, as Harrington ays, "an army may as well conit of oldiers without officers, or of officers without oldiers, as a commonwealth conit of a people without a gentry, or of a gentry without a people."

"Let tates take heed," ays Lord Bacon, "how their nobility and gentlemen multiply too fail, for that makes the common ubject grow to be a peaant and bae wain driven out of heart, and in effect but a gentleman's labourer. How hall the plow then be kept in the hands of the owners, and not mere hirelings? how hall the country attain to the character which Virgil gives of ancient Italy, Terra potens armis, atque ubere gleba? how, but by the balance of dominion or property?"

Notwithtanding Mr. Turgot's averion to balances, Harrington dicovered, and made out, as Toland his biographer informs us, that "empire follows the balance of property, whether lodged in one, a few, or many hands." A noble dicovery, of which the honour olely belongs to him, as much as the circulation of the blood to Harvey, printing to Laurence Coter, or of guns, compaes, or optic glaes to the everal authors. If this balance is not the foundation of all politicks, as Toland aerts, it is of o much importance, that no man can be thought a mailer of the ubject