er increase, and by consequence of her greatness.

"'Wherefore let a legislator consider with himself whether he would make
his commonwealth for preservation, in which case she may be free from
tumults; or for increase, in which case she must be infested with them.

"'If he makes her for preservation, she may be quiet at home, but will
be in danger abroad. First, because her foundation must be narrow,
and therefore weak, as that of Lacedaemon, which lay but upon 30,000
citizens; or that of Venice, which lies but upon 3,000. Secondly, such
a commonwealth must either be in peace, or war; if she be in peace,
the few are soonest effeminated and corrupted and so obnoxious also to
faction. If in war, succeeding ill, she is an easy prey; or succeeding
well, ruined by increase: a weight which her foundation is not able to
bear. For Lacedaemon, when she had made herself mistress upon the matter
of all Greece, through a slight accident, the rebellion of Thebes,
occasioned by the conspiracy of Pelopidas discovering this infirmity of
her nature, the rest of her conquered cities immediately fell off, and
in the turn as it were of a hand reduced her from the fullest tide to
the lowest ebb of her fortune. And Venice having possessed herself of a
great part of Italy by her purse, was no sooner in defence of it put to
the trial of arms than she lost all in one battle.

"'Whence I conclude that in the ordination of a commonwealth a
legislator is to think upon that which is most honorable, and, laying
aside models for preservation, to follow the example of Rome conniving
at, and temporizing with, the enmity between the Senate and the people,
as a necessary step to the Roman greatness. For that any man should
find out a balance that may take in the conveniences and shut out the
inconveniences of both, I do not think it possible.' These are the words
of the author, though the method be somewhat altered, to the end that I
may the better turn them to my purpose.

"My lords, I do not know how you hearken to this sound; but to hear
the greatest artist in the modern world giving sentence against our
commonwealth is that with which I am nearly concerned. Wherefore, with
all honor due to the prince of politicians, let us examine his reasoning
with the same liberty which he has asserted to be the right of a free
people. But we shall never come up to him, except by taking the business
a little lower, we descend from effects to their causes. The ca