l be immediately a law, and wars against enemies may be waged
with secrecy and at an opportune time; those to whom a trust is committed
will be appointed because of excellence and not by lot and strife for
office; the good will be honored without jealousy and the bad punished
without opposition. Thus what was done would be accomplished in the best
way, not referred to the public, nor talked over openly, not committed to
packed committees, nor endangered by rivalry. We should reap the benefits
of the blessings that belong to us with enjoyment,[4] not entering upon
dangerous wars nor impious civil disputes. These two drawbacks are found
in every democracy: the more powerful, desiring first place and hiring
the weaker men, turn everything continually upside down. They have been
most frequent in our epoch and there is no other way save the one I
propose that will put a stop to them. The proof of my words is that
we have been warring abroad and fighting among ourselves for an
inconceivably long time: the cause is the multitude of men and the
magnitude of the interests at stake. The men are of all sorts in respect
to both race and nature and have the most diversified tempers and
desires. The interests have become so vast that it is very difficult to
attempt to administer them. [-16-] Witness to the truth of my words is
borne by our past. While we were but few, we had no important quarrel
with our neighbors, got along well with our government, and subjugated
almost all of Italy. But ever since we spread beyond the peninsula and
crossed to many foreign lands and islands, filling the whole sea and the
whole earth with our name and power, nothing good has been our lot. In
the first place we disputed in cliques at home and within our walls, and
later we exported this plague to the camps. Therefore our city, like a
great merchantman full of a crowd of every race borne without a pilot
these many years through rough water, rolls and shoots hither and thither
because it is without ballast. Do not, then, allow her to be longer
exposed to the tempest; for you see that she is waterlogged. And do not
let her split upon a reef[5]; for her timbers are rotten and will not be
able to hold out much longer. But since the gods have taken pity on this
land and have set you up as her arbiter and chief; do not betray your
country. Through you she has now revived a little: if you are faithful,
she may live with safety for ages to come.

[-17-] "That