Page:John Adams - A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America Vol. I. (1787).djvu/232

194 ambitious man, has a on, who emulates his father, and follows his teps; afterwards he dahes on the city, as on a rock, wating his ubtance in the office of a general, or ome other principal magitracy; then falling into courts of jutice, detroyed by ycophants, tripped of his dignities, digraced, and loing all his ubtance. When he has thus uffered, and lot his ubtance, in a terror he puhes headlong from the throne of his oul that ambitious dipoition; and, being humbled by his poverty, turns to the making of money, lives paringly and meanly, and applying to work, crapes together ubtance. He then eats in that throne the avaricious dipoition, and makes it a mighty king within himelf, decked out with Perian crowns, bracelets, and cepters. Having placed the virtuous and ambitious dipoition low on the ground, he reaons on nothing but how leer ubtance hall be made greater, admires and honours nothing but riches and rich people. This is the change from an ambitious youth to a covetous one, and this is the oligarchic man.

Democracy is next to be conidered, in what manner it aries, and what kind of man it produces when arien. The change from oligarchy to democracy is produced through the inatiable deire of becoming as rich as poible, As thoe who are governors in it govern on account of their poeing great riches, they will be unwilling to retrain by law uch of the youth as are diolute, from having the liberty of quandering and wating their ubtance; that o, by purchaing the ubtance of uch perons, and lending them on uury, they may till become richer, and be held in greater honour. While they neglect education, and uer the youth to grow licentious, they ome-