Page:John Adams - A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America Vol. I. (1787).djvu/47

Rh or impracticability, the utility or inutility, of a imple democracy, if we could find a number of examples of it. From the frightful pictures of a democratical city, drawn by the materly pencils of ancient philoophers and hitorians, it may be conjectured that uch governments exited in Greece and Italy, at leat for hort paces of time: but no particular hitory of any one of them is come down to us; nor are we able to procure any more atisfaction to our curioity from modern hitory. If uch a phenomenon is at this time to be een in the world, it is probably in ome of thoe tates which have the name of democracies, or at leat in uch as have preerved ome hare in the government to the people. Let us travel to ome of thoe countries, and examine their laws.

The republic of St. Marino, in Italy, is ometimes quoted as an intance; and therefore it is of ome importance to examine, 1. Whether in fact this is a imple democracy; and, 2. Whether, if it were uch, it is not owing to particular circumtances, which do not belong to any other people, and prove it to be improper for any other, epecially the United States of America, to attempt to imitate it.

The republic of St. Marino, as Mr. Addion informs us, tands on the top of a very high and craggy mountain, generally hid among the clouds, and ometimes under now, even when the weather is clear and warm in all the country about it.

This mountain, and a few hillocks that lie cattered about the bottom of it, is the whole circuit of the dominion. They have, what they call, three catles, three convents, and five churches,