Progress of States from fmall to great, and from great to fmall. When [en tribes, originally fmall, fpread wider and wider by population till they become neighbours, the flightest differences enflame mutual averfion, and inftigate hostilities that never end. Weak tribes unite for defence against the powerful, and become infenfibly one people: 0ther tribes are fwallow'd up by conqueft. And thus ftates become more and more extenfive, till they be confined by natural boundaries of feas or mountains. Spain originally contained many fmall states, which were all brought under the Roman yoke. In later times, it was again poffeffed by many states, Chriftian and Mahometan, continually at war, till by conqueft they were united in one great kingdom. Portugal ftill maintains its independency, a bleffing it owes to the weaknefs of Spain, not to advantage of fituation. I tion. The small ftates of Italy were fubdued by the Romans; and thofe of Greece by Philip of Macedon, and his fon Alexander. Scotland efcaped narrowly the fangs of Edward I. of England; and would at last have been conquered by its more potent neighbour, had not conquest been prevented by a federal union. But at that rate, have we not reason to dread the union of all nations under one univerfal monarch? There are feveral caufes that for ever will prevent a calamity fo dreadful. The local fituation of fome countries, defended by ftrong natural barriers, is one of thefe. Britain is defended. by the sea; and fo is Spain, except where divided from France by the Pyrenean mountains. Europe in general, by many barriers of feas, rivers, and mountains, is fitted for ftates of moderate extent: not fo Afia, which being divided by nature into very large portions, is prepared for extenfive monarchies *. Ruffia is the only exception * En Afie on a toujours vu de grands empires; en Europe ils n'ont jamais pu fubfifter C'est que l'Afie que nous connoiffons a de plus grandes plaines: elle eft coupée en plus grands morceaux par les montagnes VOL. II. K k ception in Europe; a weak kingdom by fituation, tho' rendered formidable by the extraordinary talents of one man, and of more women than one. A fecond caufe is the weakness of a great ftate. The strength of a state doth not increase with its bulk, more than that of a man. An overgrown empire, far from being formidable to its neighbours, falls to pieces by its weight and unwieldiness. Its frontiers are not eafily guarded: witnefs France, which is much weakened by that circumstance, tho' its greater part is bounded by the fea. Patriotism vanishes in a great monarchy: the provinces have no mutual connection: and the diftant montagnes et les mers; et comme elle eft plus au midi, les fources y font plus aifement taries, les montagnes y font moins couvertes des nieges, et les fleuves, moins groffis, y forment des moindres barriers. L'Efprit des Loix, liv. 17. c. 6. — [In English thus: "In Afia there have always been great em"pires fuch could never fubfift in Europe. The "reafon is, that in Afia there are larger plains, and "it is cut by mountains and feas into more exten"five divifions: as it lies more to the fouth, its fprings are more eafily dried up, the mountains are lefs covered with fnow, and the rivers pro"portionally fmaller form lefs confiderable bar"riers."] provinces, provinces, which must be governed by bafhaws, are always ripe for a revolt. To fecure Nicomedia, which had frequently fuffered by fire, Pliny fuggefted to the Emperor Trajan, a fire-company of one hundred and fifty men. So infirm at that period was the Roman empire, that Trajan durft not put the project in execution, fearing disturbances even from that small body. The chief cause is the luxury and effeminacy of a great monarchy, which leave no appetite for war, either in the fovereign or in his fubjects. Great inequality of rank in an extenfive kingdom, occafioned by a conftant flow of riches into the capital, introduces fhow, expenfive living, luxury, and fenfuality. Riches, by affording gratification to every fenfual appetite, become an idol to which all men bow the knee; and when riches are worshipped as a paffport to power as well as to pleasure, they corrupt the heart, eradicate every virtue, and fofter every vice. In fuch diffolution of manners, contradictions are reconciled: avarice and meannefs unite with vanity; diffimulation and cunning, with fplendor. Where fubjects are fo corKk 2 rupted, rupted, what will the prince be, who is not taught to moderate his paffions, who measures juftice by appetite, and who is debilitated by corporeal pleasures? Such a prince never thinks of heading his own troops, nor of extending his dominions. Mostazen, the laft Califf of Bagdat, is a confpicuous inftance of the degeneracy defcribed. His kingdom being invaded by the Tartars in the year 1258, he shut himfelf up in his feraglio with his debauched companions, as in profound peace; and, ftupified with floth and voluptuoufnefs, was the only perfon who appeared careless about the fate of his empire. A King of Perfia, being informed that the Turks had made themselves mafters of his best provinces, anfwered, that he was indifferent about their fuccefs, provided they would not disturb him in his city of Ifpahan. Hoatfang, the last Chinese Emperor of the Chinese race, hid himself in his palace, while the Tartars were wresting from him his northern provinces, and Liftching, a rebel mandarine, was wrefting from him the remainder. The Empress strangled herself in her apartment; and the Emperor, making a laft effort, followed her ex ample. |