r city was besieged by the
Gauls, and saved by an animal of proverbial stupidity; but this could
not have happened when Attila was under the walls, and the energy of
the citizens was gone. The taking or saving the city, in the first
instance, would have been equally accidental, and the consequences of
short duration; but, in the latter days, the fall of Rome was owing to
_PERMANENT_ causes, and the effect has been without a remedy.

It is, then, only concerning the permanent causes, (that is to say,
causes that are constantly acting, and produce [end of page #viii]
permanent effects) that we mean to inquire; and, even with regard to
those, it is not expected to establish a theory that will be applicable,
with certainty, to the preservation of a state, but, merely to establish
one, which may serve as a safe guide on a subject, the importance of
which is great, beyond calculation.

There remains but one other consideration in reply to this, and that is,
whether states have, necessarily, by the constitution and nature of
things, the same periods of infancy, manhood, and decrepitude, that
are found in the individuals that compose them? Mr. Burke thinks they
have not; and, indeed, if they had, the following Inquiry would be of
no sort of utility. It is of no importance to seek for means of
preventing what must of necessity come to pass: but, if the word
necessity is changed for tendency or propensity, then it becomes an
Inquiry deserving attention, and, as all states have risen, flourished,
and fallen, there can be no dispute with the regard to their tendency to
do so.

However much, at first sight, Mr. Burke's opinion may appear to
militate against such an Inquiry, when duly considered, it will be
found, not only to approve of the end, but to point out the manner in
which the inquiry ought to be conducted; namely, by consulting
history. [end of page #ix]

If it is allowed that any practical advantage is to be derived from the
history of the past, it can only be, in so far as it is applicable to the
present and the future; and, if there is none, it is melancholy to reflect
on the volumes that have been written without farther utility than to
gratify idle curiosity. Are the true lessons of history, because they are
never completely applicable to present affairs, to be ranked with the
entertaining, but almost useless, pages of romance? No, certainly. Of
the inheritance possessed by the present generation, the history of
t