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Progress of States from fmall to great, and from great to fmall.

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HEN tribes, originally fmall, fpread wider and wider, by population, till they become neighbours, the flightest differences inflame mutual averfion, and inftigate hoftilities that never end. Weak tribes unite for defence against the powerful, and become infenfibly one people: other tribes are fwallowed up by conqueft. And thus ftates become more and more extenfive, till they be confined by natural boundaries of feas or mountains. Spain originally contained many fmall ftates, which were all brought under the Roman yoke. In later times, it was again poffeffed by many ftates, Chriftian and Mahometan, continually at war, till by conqueft they were united in one great kingdom. Portugal ftill maintains its independency; a bleffing it owes to the weaknefs of Spain, not to advantage of fitua

tion. The fmall ftates of Italy were subdued by the Romans; and those of Greece by Philip of Macedon, and his fon Alexander. Scotland escaped narrowly the fangs of Edward I. of England; and would at laft have been conquered by its more potent neighbour, had not conqueft been prevented by a federal union.

But, at that rate, have we not reason to dread the union of all nations under one univerfal monarch? There are feveral caufes that for ever will prevent a calamity so dreadful. The local fituation of fome countries, defended by ftrong natural barriers, is one of thefe, Britain is defended by the fea; and fo is Spain, except where divided from France by the Pyrenean mountains. Europe in general, by many barriers of feas, rivers, and mountains, is fitted for ftates of moderate extent not fo Afia, which being divided by nature into very large portions, is prepared for extenfive monarchies *. Ruffia is the only exception

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* En Afie on a toujours vu de grands empires; en Europe ils n'ont jamais pu fubfifter. C'eft que l'Afie que nous connoiffons a de plus grandes plaines: elle eft coupée en plus grands morceaux par les montagnes

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ception in Europe; a weak kingdom by fituation, though rendered formidable by the extraordinary talents of one man, and of more women than one.

A fecond cause, is the weakness of a great ftate. The ftrength of a ftate doth not increase with its bulk, more than that of a man. An overgrown empire, far from being formidable to its neighbours, falls to pieces by its weight and unwieldinefs. Its frontiers are not eafily guarded: witnefs France, which is much weakened by that circumstance, though its greater part is bounded by the fea. Patriotism vanishes in a great monarchy: the provinces have no mutual connection: and the diftant

et les mers; et comme elle est plus au midi, les fources y font plus aisement taries, les montagnes y font moins couvertes des nieges, et les fleuves, moins groffis, y forment des moindres barriers; L'Esprit des Loix, liv. 17. c 6.

(In English thus: "In Afia there have always been "great empires: fuch could never fubfift in Europe. "The reafon is, that, in Afia, there are larger plains, "and it is cut by mountains and feas into more exten"five divifions: as it lies more to the fouth, its fprings "are more easily dried up, the mountains are lefs covered with fnow, and the rivers proportionally small"er, form lefs confiderable barriers.")

provinces,

provinces, which must be governed by bashaws, are always ripe for a revolt. To fecure Nicomedia, which had frequently fuffered by fire, Pliny fuggefted to the Emperor Trajan, a fire-company of one hundred and fifty men. So infirm at that period was the Roman empire, that Trajan durft not put the project in execution, fearing difturbances even from that small body.

The chief cause is the luxury and effeminacy of a great monarchy, which leave no appetite for war, either in the sovereign or in his subjects. Great inequality of rank in an extenfive kingdom, occafioned by a constant flow of riches into the capital, introduces fhow, expensive living, luxury, and fenfuality. Riches, by affording gratification to every sensual appetite, become an idol to which all men bow the knee; and, when riches are worshipped as a passport to power as well as to pleasure, they corrupt the heart, eradicate every virtue, and fofter every vice. In fuch dif folution of manners, contradictions are reconciled : avarice and meannefs unite with vanity; diffimulation and cunning, with splendor. Where subjects are so cor

rupted,

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rupted, what will the prince be, who is not taught to moderate his paffions, who. measures justice by appetite, and who is debilitated by corporeal pleasures? Such a prince never thinks of heading his own. troops, nor of extending his dominions.. Moftazen, the laft Califf of Bagdat, is a confpicuous inftance of the degeneracy defcribed. His kingdom being invaded by the Tartars in the year 1258, he shut himfelf up in his feraglio with his debauched companions, as in profound peace; and; ftupified with floth and voluptuoufnefs, was the only perfon who appeared careless about the fate of his empire. A King of Perfia, being informed that the Turks had made themselves mafters of his best provinces, anfwered, that he was indifferent about their fuccefs, provided they would not difturb him in his city of Ifpachan. Schah Huffein, King of Perfia, at the beginning of the prefent century, was fo funk by floth and luxury in a feraglio life, that, when a victorious army of rebels was approaching to Ifpachan, he said to his minifters, "It is your business to repel the "rebels, as you have armies provided. As "for my part, if they but leave me my

"palace

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