Page:John Adams - A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America Vol. I. (1787).djvu/26

xviii whole quarter of the globe, are a great point gained in favour of the rights of mankind. The experiment is made, and has completely ucceeded: it can no longer be called in quetion, whether authority in magitrates, and obedience of citizens, can be grounded on reaon, morality, and the Chritian religion, without the monkery of priets, or the knavery of politicians. As the writer was peronally acquainted with mod of the gentlemen in each of the tates, who had the principal hare in the firt draughts, the following letters were really written to lay before the gentleman to whom they are addreed, a pecimen of that kind of reading and reaoning which produced the American contitutions.

It is not a little urpriing that all this kind of learning hould have been unknown to any illutrious philoopher and tateman, epecially one who really was, what he has been often called, "a well of cience." But if he could be unacquainted with it, or it could have ecaped his memory, we may uppoe millions in America have occaion to be reminded of it.—The writer has long een with anxiety the facility with which philoophers of greatet name have undertaken to write of American affairs, without knowing any thing of them, and have echoed and re-echoed each other's viions. Having neither talents, leiure, nor inclination, to meet uch champions in the field of literary controvery, he