vailed upon, and took the reward of his treachery with great complaifance. These were the fuccefsful arts, which he ufed abroad; and by fuch intrigues he often defeated the strongest confederacies of all Greece. His adminiftration was wife, dreaded abroad, and refpected at home. What occafion could he have to penfion his own fubjects? Their love and efteem was founded upon the real conviction of the excellency of his government, and not upon that flippery foundation of corruption. He kept them honeft, by not tempting them to be otherwife. Even in a just cause, a gift perverts the mind; and, as Tully well obferves upon this place," the receiver immediately becomes a bad man, and is always expecting greater bribes." The plunder of a whole people is fufficient. To this honesty of the Macedonians, confirmed by their king, is to be attributed their true greatness of mind and perfonal courage. The name of barbarians, which the over-wife Greeks were too apt to bestow upon their neighbours, now left them, even by the confeffion of those very Greeks, who, in a general assembly of their confederate Republics, foon after placed Alexander at the head of that grand alliance, which gave him and his Macedonians the empire of the world. From the whole it is clearly evident, that an unpenfioned fubject will give the wifeft counsel to his prince, and will always continue the most faithful to him. It is the true interest of the prince to have such about him, as will not flatter him, and be flaves to his paffions, for the fake of his money. The greatest danger that can happen to a prince will arife from fuch of his own fervants, as from their own corrupt principles would fell him and his counfels to the common enemy. Treafon is too often the fatal attendant upon corruption. A government may be conducted with the greatest security, without employing thofe pecuniary arts at home; for a wife administration will always ftand upon its own legs, and support itfe. itself without the affiftance of Gold. It can raife a whole, people, almost from a state of barbarity, to the height of greatnefs and heroic virtue. For the PHILANTHROPIST. A NEW SONG. ON THE DEMISE OF BRITISH LIBERTY. Tune "Ere around the huge Oak." ERE around the fam'd fabrick of Englishmens rights, Foul corruption had dar'd to entwine; Ere the monster Oppreffion had gain'd her proud heights, Then the funshine of freedom enliven'd our ifle, And peace gave us bleffings in store, Then contentment and plenty crown'd every toil, But alas these sweet moments where now fhall we find, 1 For the glory of nations, the rights of mankind ; J W. H. G. No. 41. THE PHILANTHROPIST, MONDAY, JANUARY 11. LONDON. Printed for and fold by DANIEL ISAAC EATON, Printer and Bookfeller to the Supreme Majefty of the People, at the Cock and SWINE, No. 74, Newgate street. 1796. PRICE ONE PENNY. For the PHILANTHROPIST. REASONS WHY THE PEOPLE ARE THE BEST KIEPERS OF THEIR OWN LIBERTIES. (Concluded.) THE eleventh reafon is, because in this form no determi nations being carried, but by confent of the people; therefore they muft needs remain fecure out of the reach of tyranny, and free from the arbitrary difpofition of any commanding power. In this cafe, as the people know what laws they are to obey, and what penalties they are to undergo, in case of transgreffion; so having their share and intereft in the making of laws, with the penalties annexed, they become the more inexcufable if they offend, and the more willingly submit unto punishment when they fuffer for any offence. Now the cafe is ufually far otherwife, under all standing powers; for, when government is managed . managed in the hands of a particular person, or continued in the hands of a certain number of great men, the people then have no laws but what kings and great men please to give : nor do they know how to walk by thofe laws, or how to undatand them, because the sense is oftentimes left at uncertainty; and it is reckoned a great mystery of state in those forms of government, that no laws fhall be of any sense or force, but as the great ones please to expound them: fo as by this means, the people many times are left as it were without law, because they bear no other construction and meaning, but what fuits with particular mens interefts and phantafies; not with right reason, or the public liberty. For the proof of this under kingly government, we might run all the world over; but our own nation affords inftances enough in practices of all our kings: yet this evil never came to such a height, as it did in the reign of Henry the seventh, who by ufurping a prerogative of expounding the laws after his own pleasure. made them rather fnares, than instruments of relief, (like a grand catch-pole) to pill, poll, and geld the purfes of the people; as his fon Harry did after him, to deprive many gallant men both of their lives and fortunes. For the judges being reputed the oracles of the law, and the power of creating judges being ufurped by kings, they had a care ever to create such, as would make the laws speak in favour of them, upon any occafion. The truth whereof hath abundantly appeared in the days of the late king, and his father James whofe ufual language was this: "As long as I have power of making what judges and bishops I please, I am fure to have no law nor gospel but what shall please me.' This very providing for this inconvenience, was the great commendation of Lycurgus his inftitution in Sparta; who, though he cut out the Lacedemonian Commonwealth after the grandee fashion, confirming the fupremacy within the walls of the fenate, (for their king was but a cypher) yet he fo ordered the matter, that he took away the grandeur; that as their king king was of little more value than any one of the fenators; fo the fenate was reftrained by laws, walking in the same even pace of fubjection with the people; having very few offices of dignity or profit allowed, which might make them fwell with state and ambition; but were prescribed alfo the fame rules of frugality, plainnefs, and moderation, as were the common people by which means immoderate lufts and defires being prevented in the great ones, they were the less inclined to pride and oppreffion; and no great profit or pleasure being to be gotten by authority, very few defired it; and fuch as were in it, fat free from envy, by which means they avoided that odium and emulation which uses to rage betwixt the great ones and the people in that form of government. But now the cafe is far otherwife in the commonwealth of Venice, where the people being excluded from all interest in government, the power of making and executing of laws, and bearing of offices, with all other immunities, lies only in the hands of a standing fenate, and their kindred, which they call the Patrocian, or noble order. Their duke, or prince, is indeed restrained, and made just such another officer as were the Lacedemonian kings; differing from the reft of the senate, only in a corner of his cap, befides a little outward ceremony and fplendour: but the fenators themselves have liberty at random, arbitrarily to ramble, and do what they please with the people who excepting the city itself, are fo extremely oppreffed in all their territories, living by no law but the arbitrary dictates of the fenate, that it seems rather a junta, than a Commonwealth; and the subjects take fo little content in it that seeing more to be enjoyed under the Turk, they that are his borderers take all opportunities to revolt, and fubmit rather to the mercy of a pagan-tyranny. Which difpofition if you confider, together with the little courage in their subjects, by reason they prefs them so hard; and how that they are forced for this cause, to rely upon foreign mercenaries in all warlike expeditions, you might wonder how this ftate hath held up |
