Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol I).djvu/66

50 triotim or public pirit. In aritocracies there is more widom to be found, than in the other frames of government; being compoed, or intended to be compoed, of the mot experienced citizens; but there is les honety than in a republic, and les trength than in a monarchy. A monarchy is indeed the mot powerful of any, all the inews of government being knit together, and united in the hand of the prince; but then there is imminent danger of his employing that trength to improvident or oppreive purpoes. thee three pecies of government have, all of them, their everal perfections and imperfections. Democracies are uually the bet calculated to direct the end of a law; aritocracies to invent the means by which that end hall be obtained; and monarchies to carry thoe means into execution. And the antients, as was oberved, had in general no idea of any other permanent form of government but thee three: for though Cicero declares himelf of opinion, “undefined;” yet Tacitus treats this notion of a mixed government, formed out of them all, and partaking of the advantages of each, as a viionary whim, and one that, if effected, could never be lating or ecure. , happily for us of this iland, the Britih contitution has long remained, and I trut will long continue, a tanding exception to the truth of this obervation. For, as with us the executive power of the laws is lodged in a ingle peron, they have all the advantages of trength and dipatch, that are to be found in the mot abolute monarchy; and, as the legilature of the kingdom is entruted to three ditinct powers, entirely independent of each other; firt, the king; econdly, the lords piritual and temporal, which is an aritocratical aembly of perons elected