Page:John Adams - A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America Vol. I. (1787).djvu/31

Rh to renounce it, and et up the governments of ancient Goths and modern Indians—what would they ay? That the Americans would be more reprehenible than the Cappadocians, if they hould liten to uch advice. It would have been much, to the purpoe to have inerted a more accurate invetigarion of the form of government of the ancient Germans and modern Indians; in both, the exitence of the three diviions of power is marked with a preciion that excludes all controvery. The democratical branch, epecially, is o determined, that the real overeignty reided in the body of the people, and was exercied in the aembly of king, nobles, and commons together. Thee intitutions really collected all authority into one center of kings, nobles, and people. But mall as their numbers, and narrow as their territories were, the conequence was confuion; each part believed it governed the whole: the chiefs thought they were overeign; the nobles believed the power to be in their hands and the people flattered themelves that all depended upon them. Their purpoes were well enough anwered, without coming to an explanation, while they were few in numbers, and had no property; but when pread over large provinces of the Roman empire, now the great kingdoms of Europe, and grown populous and rich, they found the inconvenience of not knowing each its place. Kings, nobles, and people claimed