Page:Thoughts on civil liberty, on licentiousness and faction.djvu/145

 Evil must arise from the steady Conduct of the Prince. For Faction, unopposed, and led on by the higher Ranks, will never cease in its Demands, till it terminates in the Possession of an unbounded aristocratic Power: This is a Power, which nothing but the Courage and Steadiness of the Prince can possibly contend with: Because the final Object of such a Faction will always be, "Those high and lucrative Offices of State, which are in His sole Disposal."

If a Sovereign once gives Way to the Storms in which such a Faction will involve him, his Peace and Freedom, together with Those of his People, are inevitably destroyed. On the contrary, if amidst all the Tumults of Sedition, he discovers an unalterable Firmness and Fortitude, founded in upright Intentions and real Virtue; the Rage of hopeless Faction will by Degrees subside; and a Prospect of better Times will open upon Him and his People. This general Truth might