their compofition than we have. But with refpect to you, ye legiflators, ye civilifers of mankind! ye Orpheufes, Mofefes, Minofes, Solons, Thefeufes, Lycurgufes, Numas! with refpect to you be it spoken, your regulations have done more mischief in cold blood, than all the rage of the fierceft animals in their greatest terrours, or furies, has ever done, or ever could do!

Thefe evils are not accidental. Whoever will take the pains to confider the nature of fociety, will find they refult directly from its conftitution. For as fubordination, or in other words, the reciprocation of tyranny, and flavery, is requifite to fupport these societies, the interest, the ambition, the malice, or the revenge, nay even the whim and caprice of one ruling man among them, is enough to arm all the reft, without any private views of their own, to the worst and blackest purposes; and what is at once lamentable, and ridiculous, these wretches engage under those banners. with a fury greater than if they were animated by revenge for their own proper wrongs.

It is no less worth obferving, that this artificial divifion of mankind, into feparate focieties, is a perpetual source in itself of hatred and diffenfion among them. The names which diftinguish them are enough to blow up hatred, and rage. Examine history; confult prefent experience; and you will find, that far the greater part of the quarrels

quarrels between feveral nations, had scarce any other occafion, than, that these nations were different combinations of people, and called by dif ferent names; to an Englishman, the name of a Frenchman, a Spaniard, an Italian, much more a Turk, or a Tartar, raifes of courfe ideas of hatred, and contempt. If you would inspire this compatriot of ours with pity or regard, for one of thefe; would you not hide that distinction? You would not pray him to compaffionate the poor Frenchman, or the unhappy German. Far from it; you would speak of him as a foreigner, an accident to which all are liable. You would reprefent him as a man, one partaking with us of the fame common nature, and fubject to the fame law. There is fomething fo averfe from our nature in these artificial political diftinctions, that we need no other trumpet to kindle us to war, and deftruction. But there is fomething fo benign and healing in the general voice of humanity, that maugré all our regulations to prevent it, the fimple name of man applied properly, never fails to work a fa lutary effect.

This natural unpremeditated effect of policy on the unpoffeffed paffions of mankind, appears on other occafions. The very name of a politician, a ftatefman, is fure to caufe terrour and hatred; it has always connected with it the ideas of treachery, cruelty, fraud and tyranny; and thofe writers who VOL. I.

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have

have faithfully unveiled the mysteries of ftate-freemafonry, have ever been held in general deteftation, for even knowing fo perfectly a theory fo deteftable. The cafe of Machiavel feems at firft fight fomething hard in that respect. He is obliged to bear the iniquities of thofe whofe maxims and rules of government he published. His fpeculation is more abhorred than their practice.

But if there were no other arguments against artificial fociety than this I am going to mention, methinks it ought to fall by this one only. All writers on the fcience of policy are agreed, and they agree with experience, that all governments must frequently infringe the rules of justice to fupport themselves; that truth muft give way to dif fimulation; honefty to convenience; and humanity itself to the reigning intereft. The whole of this mystery of iniquity is called the reafon of ftate. It is a reafon which I own I cannot penetrate. What fort of a protection is this of the general right, that is maintained by infringing the rights of particulars? What fort of juftice is this, which is inforced by breaches of its own laws? These. paradoxes I leave to be folved by the able heads of legiflators and politicians. For my part, I fay what a plain man would fay on fuch an occafion. I can never believe, that inftitution agreeable to nature, and proper for mankind, could find it neceffary, or even expedient in any cafe whatso

any

ever to do, what the beft and worthieft instincts of mankind warn us to avoid. But no wonder, that what is fet up in oppofition to the state of nature, fhould preferve itself by trampling upon the law of nature.

To prove that these forts of policed focieties are a violation offered to nature, and a constraint upon the human mind, it needs only to look upon the fanguinary measures, and inftruments of vio. lence which are every where used to support them. Let us take a review of the dungeons, whips, chains, racks, gibbets, with which every fociety is abundantly stored, by which hundreds of victims are annually offered up to fupport a dozen or two in pride and madness, and millions in an abject fervitude and dependence. There was a time, when I looked with a reverential awe on these myfteries of policy; but age, experience, and philofophy have rent the veil; and I view this fanctum fanctorum, at least, without any enthufiaftick admiration. I acknowledge indeed, the neceffity of fuch a proceeding in fuch inftitutions; but I muft have a very mean opinion of inftitutions where fuch proceedings are neceffary.

It is a misfortune, that in no part of the globe natural liberty and natural religion are to be found pure, and free from the mixture of political adulterations. Yet we have implanted in us by Providence ideas, axioms, rules, of what is pious, juft,

fair, honeft, which no political craft, nor learned fophiftry, can entirely expel from our breafts. By thefe we judge, and we cannot otherwise judge of the feveral artificial modes of religion and fociety, and determine of them as they approach to, or recede from this standard.

The fimpleft form of government is defpotifm, where all the inferiour orbs of power are moved merely by the will of the Supreme, and all that are fubjected to them, directed in the fame man ner, merely by the occafional will of the magiftrate. This form, as it is the most simple, so it is infinitely the moft general. Scarce any part of the world is exempted from its power. And in those few places where men enjoy what they call liberty, it is continually in a tottering fituation, and makes greater and greater ftrides to that gulph of def potifm which at laft fwallows up every fpecies of government. The manner of ruling being directed merely by the will of the weakeft, and generally the worst man in the fociety, becomes the moft foolish and capricious thing, at the fame time that it is the most terrible and deftructive, that well can be conceived. In a defpotifm the principal perfon finds, that let the want, mifery, and indigence of his fubjects be what they will, he can yet poffefs abundantly of every thing to gratify his moft infatiable wifhes. He does more. He finds that these gratifications increase in pro

portion