第29章

类别:其他 作者:Baron Charles De Secondat Mont字数:10834更新时间:19/01/07 15:06:43
ThecharacteroftheChineseisformedofanothermixture,directlyoppositetothatoftheSpaniards;theprecariousnessoftheirsubsistence[13]inspiresthemwithaprodigiousactivity,andsuchanexcessivedesireofgain,thatnotradingnationcanconfideinthem。[14]ThisacknowledgedinfidelityhassecuredthemthepossessionofthetradetoJapan。NoEuropeanmerchanthaseverdaredtoundertakeitintheirname,howeasysoeveritmightbeforthemtodoitfromtheirmaritimeprovincesinthenorth。 11。AReflection。Ihavesaidnothingherewithaviewtolessenthatinfinitedistancewhichmusteverbebetweenvirtueandvice。GodforbidthatIshouldbeguiltyofsuchanattempt!Iwouldonlymakemyreaderscomprehendthatallpoliticalarenotallmoralvices;andthatallmoralarenotpoliticalvices;andthatthosewhomakelawswhichshockthegeneralspiritofanationoughtnottobeignorantofthis。 12。OfCustomsandMannersinadespoticState。Itisacapitalmaximthatthemannersandcustomsofadespoticempireoughtnevertobechanged;fornothingwouldmorespeedilyproducearevolution。Thereasonisthatinthesestatestherearenolaws,thatis,nonethatcanbeproperlycalledso;thereareonlymannersandcustoms;andifyouoverturntheseyouoverturnall。 Lawsareestablished,mannersareinspired;theseproceedfromageneralspirit,thosefromaparticularinstitution:nowitisasdangerous,naymoreso,tosubvertthegeneralspiritastochangeaparticularinstitution。 Thereislesscommunicationinacountrywhereeach,eitherassuperiororinferior,exercisesorisoppressedbyarbitrarypower,thanthereisinthosewherelibertyreignsineverystation。Theydonot,therefore,sooftenchangetheirmannersandbehaviour。Fixedandestablishedcustomshaveanearresemblancetolaws。Thusitisherenecessarythataprinceoralegislatorshouldlessopposethemannersandcustomsofthepeoplethaninanyothercountryuponearth。 Theirwomenarecommonlyconfined,andhavenoinfluenceinsociety。Inothercountries,wheretheyhaveintercoursewithmen,theirdesireofpleasing,andthedesiremenalsohaveofgivingthempleasure,produceacontinualchangeofcustoms。Thetwosexesspoileachother;theybothlosetheirdistinctiveandessentialquality;whatwasnaturallyfixedbecomesquiteunsettled,andtheircustomsandbehaviouraltereveryday。 13。OftheBehaviouroftheChinese。ButChinaistheplacewherethecustomsofthecountrycanneverbechanged。Besidestheirwomenbeingabsolutelyseparatedfromthemen,theircustoms,liketheirmorals,aretaughtintheschools。Amanoflettersmaybeknownbyhiseasyaddress。[15]Thesethingsbeingoncetaughtbyprecept,andinculcatedbygravedoctors,becomefixed,liketheprinciplesofmorality,andareneverchanged。 14。WhatarethenaturalMeansofchangingtheMannersandCustomsofaNation。Wehavesaidthatthelawsweretheparticularandpreciseinstitutionsofalegislator,andmannersandcustomstheinstitutionsofanationingeneral。Henceitfollowsthatwhenthesemannersandcustomsaretobechanged,itoughtnottobedonebylaws;thiswouldhavetoomuchtheairoftyranny:itwouldbebettertochangethembyintroducingothermannersandothercustoms。 Thuswhenaprincewouldmakegreatalterationsinhiskingdom,heshouldreformbylawwhatisestablishedbylaw,andchangebycustomwhatissettledbycustom;foritisverybadpolicytochangebylawwhatoughttobechangedbycustom。 ThelawwhichobligedtheMuscovitestocutofftheirbeardsandtoshortentheirclothes,andtherigourwithwhichPeterImadethemcrop,eventotheirknees,thelongcloaksofthosewhoenteredintothecities,wereinstancesoftyranny。Therearemeansthatmaybemadeuseoftopreventcrimes;thesearepunishments:therearethoseforchangingourcustoms;theseareexamples。 Thefacilityandeasewithwhichthatnationhasbeenpolishedplainlyshowsthatthisprincehadaworseopinionofhispeoplethantheydeserved;andthattheywerenotbrutes,thoughhewaspleasedtocallthemso。Theviolentmeasureswhichheemployedwereneedless;hewouldhaveattainedhisendaswellbymildermethods。 Hehimselfexperiencedthefacilityofbringingaboutthesealterations。 Thewomenwereshutup,andinsomemeasureslaves;hecalledthemtocourt;hesentthemsilksandfinestuffs,andmadethemdressliketheGermanladies。Thisseximmediatelyrelishedamanneroflifewhichsogreatlyflatteredtheirtaste,theirvanity,andtheirpassions;andbytheirmeansitwasrelishedbythemen。 Whatrenderedthechangethemoreeasywasthattheirmannersatthattimewereforeigntotheclimate,andhadbeenintroducedamongthembyconquestandbyamixtureofnations。PeterI,ingivingthemannersandcustomsofEuropetoaEuropeannation,foundafacilitywhichhedidnothimselfexpect。Theempireoftheclimateisthefirst,themostpowerful,ofallempires。Hehadthennooccasionforlawstochangethemannersandcustomsofhiscountry;itwouldhavebeensufficienttohaveintroducedothermannersandothercustoms。 Nationsareingeneralverytenaciousoftheircustoms;totakethemawaybyviolenceistorenderthemunhappy:weshouldnotthereforechangethem,butengagethepeopletomakethechangethemselves。 Allpunishmentwhichisnotderivedfromnecessityistyrannical。Thelawisnotamereactofpower;thingsintheirownnatureindifferentarenotwithinitsprovince。 15。TheInfluenceofdomesticGovernmentonthepolitical。ThisalterationinthemannersofwomenwilldoubtlesshaveagreatinfluenceonthegovernmentofMuscovy。Onenaturallyfollowstheother:thedespoticpoweroftheprinceisconnectedwiththeservitudeofwomen; thelibertyofwomenwiththespiritofmonarchy。 16。HowsomeLegislatorshaveconfoundedthePrincipleswhichgovernMankind。Mannersandcustomsarethosehabitswhicharenotestablishedbylegislators,eitherbecausetheywerenotableorwerenotwillingtoestablishthem。 Thereisthisdifferencebetweenlawsandmanners,thatthelawsaremostadaptedtoregulatetheactionsofthesubject,andmannerstoregulatetheactionsoftheman。Thereisthisdifferencebetweenmannersandcustoms,thattheformerprincipallyrelatetotheinteriorconduct,thelattertotheexterior。 Thesethingshavebeensometimesconfounded。[16]Lycurgusmadethesamecodeforthelaws,manners,andcustoms,andthelegislatorsofChinahavedonethesame。 WeoughtnottobesurprisedthatthelegislatorsofChinaandSpartashouldconfoundthelaws,manners,andcustoms;thereasonis,theirmannersrepresenttheirlaws,andtheircustomstheirmanners。 TheprincipalobjectwhichthelegislatorsofChinahadinviewwastomaketheirsubjectsliveinpeaceandtranquillity。Theywouldhavepeoplefilledwithavenerationforoneanother,thateachshouldbeeverymomentsensibleofhisdependenceonsociety,andoftheobligationsheowedtohisfellow—citizens。Theythereforegaverulesofthemostextensivecivility。 ThustheinhabitantsofthevillagesofChina[17]practiseamongstthemselvesthesameceremoniesasthoseobservedbypersonsofanexaltedstation;averypropermethodofinspiringmildandgentledispositions,ofmaintainingpeaceandgoodorder,andofbanishingalltheviceswhichspringfromanasperityoftemper。Ineffect,wouldnotthefreeingthemfromtherulesofcivilitybetosearchoutamethodforthemtoindulgetheirownhumours? Civilityisinthisrespectofmorevaluethanpoliteness。Politenessflattersthevicesofothers,andcivilitypreventsoursfrombeingbroughttolight。Itisabarrierwhichmenhaveplacedwithinthemselvestopreventthecorruptionofeachother。 Lycurgus,whoseinstitutionsweresevere,hadnoregardtocivility;informingtheexternalbehaviourhehadaviewtothatwarlikespiritwithwhichhewouldfaininspirehispeople。Apeoplewhowereinacontinualstateofdisciplineandinstruction,andwhowereenduedwithequalsimplicityandrigour,atonedbytheirvirtuesfortheirwantofcomplaisance。 17。OfthepeculiarQualityoftheChineseGovernment。ThelegislatorsofChinawentfurther。[18]Theyconfoundedtheirreligion,laws,manners,andcustoms;alltheseweremorality,allthesewerevirtue。 Thepreceptsrelatingtothesefourpointswerewhattheycalledrites; anditwasintheexactobservanceofthesethattheChinesegovernmenttriumphed。Theyspenttheirwholeyouthinlearningthem,theirwholelifeinthepractice。Theyweretaughtbytheirmenofletters,theywereinculcatedbythemagistrates;andastheyincludedalltheordinaryactionsoflife,whentheyfoundthemeansofmakingthemstrictlyobserved,Chinawaswellgoverned。 TwothingshavecontributedtotheeasewithwhichtheseritesareengravedontheheartsandmindsoftheChinese;one,thedifficultyofwriting,whichduringthegreatestpartoftheirliveswhollyemploystheirattention,[19]becauseitisnecessarytopreparethemtoreadandunderstandthebooksinwhichtheyarecomprised;theother,thattheritualpreceptshavingnothinginthemthatisspiritual,butbeingmerelyrulesofcommonpractice,aremoreadaptedtoconvinceandstrikethemindthanthingsmerelyintellectual。 Thoseprinceswho,insteadofrulingbytheserites,governedbytheforceofpunishments,wantedtoaccomplishthatbypunishmentswhichitisnotintheirpowertoproduce,thatis,togivehabitsofmorality。 Bypunishments,asubjectisveryjustlycutofffromsociety,who,havinglostthepurityofhismanners,violatesthelaws;butifalltheworldweretolosetheirmoralhabits,wouldthesereestablishthem? Punishmentsmaybejustlyinflictedtoputastoptomanyoftheconsequencesofthegeneralevil,buttheywillnotremovetheevilitself。ThuswhentheprinciplesoftheChinesegovernmentwerediscarded,andmoralitywasbanished,thestatefellintoanarchy,andrevolutionssucceeded。 18。AConsequencedrawnfromtheprecedingChapter。HenceitfollowsthatthelawsofChinaarenotdestroyedbyconquest。Theircustoms,manners,laws,andreligionbeingthesamething,theycannotchangealltheseatonce;andasitwillhappenthateithertheconquerorortheconqueredmustchange,inChinaithasalwaysbeentheconqueror。Forthemannersoftheconqueringnationnotbeingtheircustoms,northeircustomstheirlaws,northeirlawstheirreligion,ithasbeenmoreeasyforthemtoconformbydegreestothevanquishedpeoplethanthelattertothem。 Therestillfollowshenceaveryunhappyconsequence,whichisthatitisalmostimpossibleforChristianityevertobeestablishedinChina。[20]Thevowsofvirginity,theassemblingofwomeninchurches,theirnecessarycommunicationwiththeministersofreligion,theirparticipationinthesacraments,auricularconfession,extremeunction,themarriageofonlyonewife——alltheseoverturnthemannersandcustomsofthecountry,andwiththesameblowstrikeattheirreligionandlaws。 TheChristianreligion,bytheestablishmentofcharity,byapublicworship,byaparticipationofthesamesacraments,seemstodemandthatallshouldbeunited;whiletheritesofChinaseemtoordainthatallshouldbeseparated。 Andaswehaveseenthatthisseparation[21]depends,ingeneral,onthespiritofdespotism,thiswillshowusthereasonwhymonarchies,andindeedallmoderategovernments,aremoreconsistentwiththeChristianreligion。[22] 19。HowthisUnionofReligion,Laws,Manners,andCustomsamongtheChinesewaseffected。TheprincipalobjectofgovernmentwhichtheChineselegislatorshadinviewwasthepeaceandtranquillityoftheempire;andsubordinationappearedtothemasthemostpropermeanstomaintainit。Filledwiththisidea,theybelievedittheirdutytoinspirearespectforparents,andthereforeexertedalltheirpowertoeffectit。Theyestablishedaninfinitenumberofritesandceremoniestodothemhonourwhenliving,andaftertheirdeath。Itwasimpossibleforthemtopaysuchhonourstodeceasedparentswithoutbeingledtoreverencetheliving。Theceremoniesatthedeathofafatherweremorenearlyrelatedtoreligion;thoseforalivingparenthadagreaterrelationtothelaws,manners,andcustoms:however,thesewereonlypartsofthesamecode;butthiscodewasveryextensive。 Avenerationfortheirparentswasnecessarilyconnectedwithasuitablerespectforallwhorepresentedthem;suchasoldmen,masters,magistrates,andthesovereign。Thisrespectforparentssupposedareturnoflovetowardschildren,andconsequentlythesamereturnfromoldmentotheyoung,frommagistratestothosewhowereundertheirjurisdiction,andfromtheemperortohissubjects。Thisformedtherites,andtheseritesthegeneralspiritofthenation。 WeshallnowshowtherelationwhichthingsinappearancethemostindifferentmaybeartothefundamentalconstitutionofChina。Thisempireisformedontheplanofagovernmentofafamily。Ifyoudiminishthepaternalauthority,orevenifyouretrenchtheceremonieswhichexpressyourrespectforit,youweakenthereverenceduetomagistrates,whoareconsideredasfathers;norwouldthemagistrateshavethesamecareofthepeople,whomtheyoughttolookuponastheirchildren;andthattenderrelationwhichsubsistsbetweentheprinceandhissubjectswouldinsensiblybelost。Retrenchbutoneofthesehabitsandyouoverturnthestate。Itisathinginitselfveryindifferentwhetherthedaughter—in—lawriseseverymorningtopaysuchandsuchdutiestohermother—in—law;butifweconsiderthattheseexteriorhabitsincessantlyreviveanideanecessarytobeimprintedonallminds——anideathatformstherulingspiritoftheempire——weshallseethatitisnecessarythatsuchorsuchaparticularactionbeperformed。 20。ExplanationofaParadoxrelatingtotheChinese。ItisveryremarkablethattheChinese,whoselivesareguidedbyrites,areneverthelessthegreatestcheatsuponearth。Thisappearschieflyintheirtrade,which,inspiteofitsnaturaltendency,hasneverbeenabletomakethemhonest。Hewhobuysofthemoughttocarrywithhimhisownweights;[23]everymerchanthavingthreesorts,theoneheavyforbuying,anotherlightforselling,andanotherofthetruestandardforthosewhoareupontheirguard。Itispossible,Ibelieve,toexplainthiscontradiction。 ThelegislatorsofChinahadtwoobjectsinview:theyweredesirousthatthepeopleshouldbesubmissiveandpeaceful,andthattheyshouldalsobelaboriousandindustrious。Bythenatureofthesoilandclimate,theirsubsistenceisveryprecarious;norcanitbeinanyotherwaysecuredthanbyindustryandlabour。 Wheneveryoneobeys,andeveryoneisemployed,thestateisinahappysituation。Itisnecessity,andperhapsthenatureoftheclimate,thathasgiventotheChineseaninconceivablegreedinessforgain,andlawshaveneverbeenmadetorestrainit。Everythinghasbeenforbiddenwhenacquiredbyactsofviolence;everythingpermittedwhenobtainedbyartificeorlabour。LetusnotthencomparethemoralsofChinawiththoseofEurope。EveryoneinChinaisobligedtobeattentivetowhatwillbeforhisadvantage;ifthecheathasbeenwatchfuloverhisowninterest,hewhoisthedupeoughttobeattentivetohis。AtSpartatheywerepermittedtosteal;inChinatheyaresufferedtodeceive。 21。HowtheLawsoughttohaveaRelationtoMannersandCustoms。Itisonlysingularinstitutionswhichthusconfoundlaws,manners,andcustoms——thingsnaturallydistinctandseparate;butthoughtheyareinthemselvesdifferent,thereisneverthelessagreatrelationbetweenthem。 SolonbeingaskedifthelawshehadgiventotheAthenianswerethebest,hereplied,\"Ihavegiventhemthebesttheywereabletobear\"[24]——afineexpression,thatoughttobeperfectlyunderstoodbyalllegislators!WhenDivineWisdomsaidtotheJews,\"Ihavegivenyoupreceptswhicharenotgood,\"thissignifiedthattheyhadonlyarelativegoodness;whichisthespongethatwipesoutallthedifficultiesinthelawofMoses。 22。ThesameSubjectcontinued。Whenapeoplehavepureandregularmanners,theirlawsbecomesimpleandnatural。Plato[25]saysthatRhadamanthus,whogovernedanationextremelyreligious,finishedeveryprocesswithextraordinarydespatch,administeringonlytheoathoneachaccusation。\"But,\"saysthesamePlato,[26]\"whenapeoplearenotreligiousweshouldneverhaverecoursetoanoath,excepthewhoswearsisentirelydisinterested,asinthecaseofajudgeandawitness。\" 23。HowtheLawsarefoundedontheMannersofaPeople。AtthetimewhenthemannersoftheRomanswerepure,theyhadnoparticularlawagainsttheembezzlementofthepublicmoney。Whenthiscrimebegantoappear,itwasthoughtsoinfamous,thattobecondemnedtorestore[27] whattheyhadtakenwasconsideredasasufficientdisgrace:foraproofofthis,seethesentenceofL。Scipio。[28] 24。ThesameSubjectcontinued。Thelawswhichgavetherightoftutelagetothemotherweremostattentivetothepreservationoftheinfant’sperson;thosewhichgrantedittothenextheirweremostattentivetothepreservationofthestate。Whenthemannersofapeoplearecorrupted,itismuchbettertogivethetutelagetothemother。 Amongthosewhoselawsconfideinthemannersofthesubjects,theguardianshipisgrantedeithertothenextheirortothemother,andsometimestoboth。 IfwereflectontheRomanlaws,weshallfindthatthespiritofthesewasconformabletowhatIhaveadvanced。AtthetimewhenthelawsoftheTwelveTablesweremade,themannersoftheRomansweremostadmirable。Theguardianshipwasgiventothenearestrelativeoftheinfant,fromaconsiderationthatheoughttohavethetroubleofthetutelagewhomightenjoytheadvantageofpossessingtheinheritance。 Theydidnotimaginethelifeoftheheirindangerthoughitwasputintoaperson’shandswhowouldreapabenefitbyhisdeath。ButwhenthemannersofRomewerechanged,herlegislatorsalteredtheirconduct。 \"If,inthepupillarysubstitution,\"sayGaius[29]andJustinian,[30] \"thetestatorisafraidthatthesubstitutewilllayanysnaresforthepupil,hemayleavethevulgarsubstitutionopen,[31]andputthepupillaryintoapartofthetestament,whichcannotbeopenedtillafteracertaintime。\"ThesefearsandprecautionswereunknowntotheprimitiveRomans。 25。ThesameSubjectcontinued。TheRomanlawgavethelibertyofmakingpresentsbeforemarriage;afterthemarriagetheywerenotallowed。ThiswasfoundedonthemannersoftheRomans,whowereledtomarriageonlybyfrugality,simplicity,andmodesty;butmightsufferthemselvestobeseducedbydomesticcares,bycomplacency,andtheconstanttenorofconjugalfelicity。 AlawoftheVisigoths[32]forbadethemangivingmoretothewomanhewastomarrythanthetenthpartofhissubstance,andhisgivingheranythingduringthefirstyearoftheirmarriage。Thisalsotookitsrisefromthemannersofthecountry。ThelegislatorswerewillingtoputastoptothatSpanishostentationwhichonlyledthemtodisplayanexcessiveliberalityinactsofmagnificence。 TheRomansbytheirlawsputastoptosomeoftheinconvenienceswhicharosefromthemostdurableempireintheworld——thatofvirtue;theSpaniards,bytheirs,wouldpreventthebadeffectsofatyrannythemostfrailandtransitory——thatofbeauty。 26。ThesameSubjectcontinued。ThelawofTheodosiusandValentinian[33]drewthecausesofrepudiationfromtheancientmannersandcustomsoftheRomans。[34]Itplacedinthenumberofthesecausesthebehaviourofthehusbandwhobeathiswife[35]inamannerthatdisgracedthecharacterofafree—bornwoman。Thiscausewasomittedinthefollowinglaws:[36]fortheirmanners,inthisrespect,hadundergoneachange,theeasterncustomshavingbanishedthoseofEurope。 Thefirsteunuchoftheempress,wifetoJustinianII,threatened,saysthehistorian,tochastiseherinthesamemanneraschildrenarepunishedatschool。Nothingbutestablishedmanners,orthosewhichtheywereseekingtoestablish,couldraiseevenanideaofthiskind。 Wehaveseenhowthelawsfollowthemannersofapeople;letusnowobservehowthemannersfollowthelaws。 27。HowtheLawscontributetoformtheManners,Customs,andCharacterofaNation。Thecustomsofanenslavedpeopleareapartoftheirservitude,thoseofafreepeopleareapartoftheirliberty。 Ihavespokenintheeleventhbook[37]ofafreepeople,andhavegiventheprinciplesoftheirconstitution:letusnowseetheeffectswhichfollowfromthisliberty,thecharacteritiscapableofforming,andthecustomswhichnaturallyresultfromit。 Idonotdenythattheclimatemayhaveproducedagreatpartofthelaws,manners,andcustomsofthisnation;butImaintainthatitsmannersandcustomshaveacloseconnectionwithitslaws。 Asthereareinthisstatetwovisiblepowers——thelegislativeandexecutive,andaseverycitizenhasawillofhisown,andmayatpleasureasserthisindependence,mostmenhaveagreaterfondnessforoneofthesepowersthanfortheother,andthemultitudehavecommonlyneitherequitynorsenseenoughtoshowanequalaffectiontoboth。 Andastheexecutivepower,bydisposingofallemployments,maygivegreathopes,andnofears,everymanwhoobtainsanyfavourfromitisreadytoespouseitscause;whileitisliabletobeattackedbythosewhohavenothingtohopefromit。 Allthepassionsbeingunrestrained,hatred,envy,jealousy,andanambitiousdesireofrichesandhonours,appearsintheirextent;wereitotherwise,thestatewouldbeintheconditionofamanweakenedbysickness,whoiswithoutpassionsbecauseheiswithoutstrength。 Thehatredwhicharisesbetweenthetwopartieswillalwayssubsist,becauseitwillalwaysbeimpotent。 Thesepartiesbeingcomposedoffreemen,iftheonebecomestoopowerfulfortheother,asaconsequenceofliberty,thisotherisdepressed; whilethecitizenstaketheweakersidewiththesamereadinessasthehandslendtheirassistancetoremovetheinfirmitiesanddisordersofthebody。 Everyindividualisindependent,andbeingcommonlyledbycapriceandhumour,frequentlychangesparties;heabandonsonewhereheleftallhisfriends,tounitehimselftoanotherinwhichhefindsallhisenemies:sothatinthisnationitfrequentlyhappensthatthepeopleforgetthelawsoffriendship,aswellasthoseofhatred。 Thesovereignishereinthesamecasewithaprivateperson;andagainsttheordinarymaximsofprudenceisfrequentlyobligedtogivehisconfidencetothosewhohavemostoffendedhim,andtodisgracethemenwhohavebestservedhim:hedoesthatbynecessitywhichotherprincesdobychoice。 Asweareafraidofbeingdeprivedoftheblessingwealreadyenjoy,andwhichmaybedisguisedandmisrepresentedtous;andasfearalwaysenlargesobjects,thepeopleareuneasyundersuchasituation,andbelievethemselvesindanger,eveninthosemomentswhentheyaremostsecure。 Asthosewhowiththegreatestwarmthopposetheexecutivepowerdarenotavowtheself—interestedmotivesoftheiropposition,somuchthemoredotheyincreasetheterrorsofthepeople,whocanneverbecertainwhethertheyareindangerornot。Buteventhiscontributestomakethemavoidtherealdangers,towhichtheymay,intheend,beexposed。 Butthelegislativebodyhavingtheconfidenceofthepeople,andbeingmoreenlightenedthanthey,maycalmtheiruneasiness,andmakethemrecoverfromthebadimpressionstheyhaveentertained。 Thisisthegreatadvantagewhichthisgovernmenthasovertheancientdemocracies,inwhichthepeoplehadanimmediatepower;forwhentheyweremovedandagitatedbytheorators,theseagitationsalwaysproducedtheireffect。 Butwhenanimpressionofterrorhasnocertainobject,itproducesonlyclamourandabuse;ithas,however,thisgoodeffect,thatitputsallthespringsofgovernmentintomotion,andfixestheattentionofeverycitizen。Butifitarisesfromaviolationofthefundamentallaws,itissullen,cruel,andproducesthemostdreadfulcatastrophes。 Soonweshouldseeafrightfulcalm,duringwhicheveryonewoulduniteagainstthatpowerwhichhadviolatedthelaws。 If,whentheuneasinessproceedsfromnocertainobject,someforeignpowershouldthreatenthestate,orputitsprosperityoritsgloryindanger,thelittleinterestsofpartywouldthenyieldtothemorestrongandbinding,andtherewouldbeaperfectcoalitioninfavouroftheexecutivepower。 Butifthedisputeswereoccasionedbyaviolationofthefundamentallaws,andaforeignpowershouldappear,therewouldbearevolutionthatwouldneitheraltertheconstitutionnortheformofgovernment。 Forarevolutionformedbylibertybecomesaconfirmationofliberty。 Afreenationmayhaveadeliverer:anationenslavedcanhaveonlyanotheroppressor。 Forwhoeverisabletodethroneanabsoluteprincehasapowersufficienttobecomeabsolutehimself。