Page:The genius - Carl Grosse tr Joseph Trapp 1796.djvu/74

 —"What, turn a regicide?"

—"Yes, if necessary, against an hundred kings. Liberty is the inalienable property of man. Who dares encroach on it is a villainous miscreant. Who exchanges it for idle prosperity, is an impostor. Who feels himself strong enough to punish crime, is his natural judge. Our ancestors gave us kings, we re-demand our rights, and subject them to a superior control."

—"But do you judge as justly as monarchs do?"

—"Our covenant has many members, and they all are free. Caprice and intrigue seldom ground our resolves."

—"The monarch's existence, you say, is owing to our ancestors voluntary submission. They transferred to his exercise and use their imprescriptible and connate rights. But who gave you power, to take those rights from him? Who guarantees the justice of your sentiments, the equity of your decrees? Irritated against government, you mix your feelings with the idea of universal oppression, and obeying yourselves no other law but the