tan, continually at war, till by conqueft they were united in one great kingdom. Portugal ftill maintains its independency, a bleffing it owes to the weakness of Spain, not to advantage of fituation. The fmall ftates of Italy were fubdued by the Romans; and thofe of Greece by Philip of Macedon, and his fon Alexander. Scotland escaped narrowly the paws of Edward I of England; and would at laft have been conquered by its more potent neighbour, had not conquest been prevented by a federal union.

But at that rate, have we not reafon to dread the union of all nations under one univerfal monarch? There are several caufes that for ever will prevent a calamity fo dreadful. The local fituation of fome countries, defended by ftrong natural barriers, is one of these. Britain is defended by the fea; and fo is Spain, except where divided from France by the Pyrenean mountains. Europe in general, by many barriers of feas, rivers, and moun tains, is fitted for ftates of moderate extent: not fo Afia, which, being divided into very large portions. is prepared by nature for extenfive monarchies *. Ruffia is the only exception in Europe; a weak kingdom by fituation, though rendered formidable by the extraordinary talents of one man, and of more than one wo

man.

A fecond caufe is, the weakness of a great ftate. The ftrength of a state doth not encrease with its bulk more than that of a man. An overgrown empire, far from

En Afic on a toujours vu de grands empires; en Europe ils n'ont jamais pu fubfifter. C'est que l'Afie que nous connoissons a de plus grandes plaines: elle eft coupee en plus grands morceaux par les montagnes et les mers; et comme elle est plus au midi, les fources y font plus aisement 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 empires: fuch could never "fubfift in Europe The reaton is, that in Asia there are larger plains, and it is cut by mountains and feas into more extenfive divifions: as it lies more to the fouth, its fprings are more easily "dried up, the mountains are lefs covered with fnow, and the ri "vers, proportionally smaller, form less considerable baariers."]

being formidable to its neighbours, falls to pieces by its weight and unwieldinefs. Its frontiers are not easily guarded witnefs France, which is much weakened by that circumstance, though its greater part is bounded by the fea. Patriotifm vanishes in a great monarchy: the provinces have no mutual connection; and the difant 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 caufe 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 constant flow of riches in the capital, introduces fhow, expensive 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 passport 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 corrupted, 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. Moftazen, 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 fhut himself up in his feraglio with his debauched companions, as in profound peace; and stupified with floth and voluptuoufnefs, was the only perfon who appeared carelefs about the fate of his empire. A King of Perfia being informed that the Turks had made themselves mafters of his beft provinces, answered, 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 wrefting from him his northern provinces, and Liftching, a rebel mandarine, was wresting from him the remainder. The Emprefs ftrangled herself in her apartment; and the Emperor, making a last effort, followed her example. The ninth Chinese Emperor of the blood of Gen. hizcan, addicted to women and priests, was defpifed by his people. A perfon without a name, who had been a fervant in the convent of Bonzes,, putting himself at the head of some robbers, dethroned the monarch, and extinguished the royal family.

The Tonquinefe, after a long fubjection to the Emperor of China, regained their independence, and were governed by kings of their own nation. These princes having, by long peace. become indolent, luxurious and effeminate, abandoned the government of the kingdom to their minifters. The governor of Cochin-china, being at a great distance from the capital, revolted firft, and that country became a feparate kingdom. The governor of Tonquin, within which province the King refided, ufurped the fovereignty: but, refpecting the royal fa mily, he only locked up the King in his palace; leaving to the King's defcendents the name of Bova, or King, with fome fhadow of royalty. The Ufurper and his fucceffors content themselves with the title of CHOVA, or Generaliffimo; which fatisfies the people, who pierce no deeper than what eye fight difcovers. A revolution of the fame kind happened in Japan. Similar caufes produce fimilar effects. The luxurious and indolent fucceffors of Charlemagne in the kingdom of France, trusting their power and authority with the mairs of their palace, were never feen in public, and were feldom heard of. The great power of these officers inflamed them with an appetite for more. Pepin and his fucceffors were for a long time kings de facto. leaving to the rightful fovereign nothing but the empty name. Charles Martel reigned for fome time without even naming a king. And at laft, Pepin the younger, anno 751, throwing off

Book II. the mask, ordered himself to be proclaimed King of France.

"

Montefquieu (a), discoursing of luxury in great empires, and effeminacy in the monarchs, defcribes the danger of revolutions, from ambitious men bred to war, in the following words: "En effet il etoit naturel que "des Empereurs nourris dans les fatigues de la guerre, qui parvenoient a faire defcendre du trone une famille noyée dans les delices, confervaffent la vertu qu'ils "avoient eprouvee fi utile, et craigniffent les voluptes qu'ils avoient vue fi funeftes. Mais apres ces trois ou quatre premiers princes, la corruption, le luxe, l'oifi"vete, les delices, s'emparent des fucceffeurs; ils s'en"ferment dans le palais, leur efprit s'affoiblit, leur vie "s'accourcit, la famille decline; les grands s'el vent,

les eunuques s'accreditent, on ne met fur le trone que "des enfans; le palais devient ennemi de l'empire, un peuple oifif qui l'habite, ruine celui qui travaille; l'Empereur eft tue ou deftruit par un ufurpateur, qui "fonde une famille, dont le troifieme ou quatrieme fuc"ceffeur va dans le meme palais fe renfermer encore +."

Little reason, then, have we to apprehend the coalition of all nations into an univerfal monarchy. We see, indeed, in the hiftory of mankind, frequent inflances of the progrefs of nations from fmall to great; but we fee alfo inftances, no lefs frequent, of extenfive monarchies

་་

(a) L'Efprit des Loix, liv. 7. chap. 7.

"It was indeed natural, that emperors, trained up to all the fatigues of war, who had effected the dethronement of a family "immerfed in fenfual pleasures. fhould adhere to that virtue of "which they had experienced the utility, and dread that voluptu"oufnefs whofe fatal effects they had feen. But after a fucceffion "of three or four fuch princes, corruption, luxury, and indolence, appear again in their fucceffors: they fhut themselves up in their palace, their foul is enervated, their life is (hortened, and their family declines: the grandees acquire power, the eunuchs gain "credit, and children are fet on the throne: the palace is at va"riance with the empire, the indolent statesmen ruin the induftrious people. The Emperor is affaffinated or depofed by an ufur per, who founds a new race of monarchs, of which the third or "fourth in fucceffion, finking again into indolence, purfues the "fame courfe of ruin, and lays the foundation of a new change."

being split into many small states. Such is the course of human affairs: states are feldom ftationary; but, like the fun, are either advancing to their meridian, or falling down gradually, till they fink into obfcurity. An empire, fubjected to effeminate princes, and devoid of patriotism, cannot long fubsist entire. The fate of all, with very few exceptions, has been uniformly the fame. The governors of provinces, lofing all regard for a voluptuous and effeminate monarch, take courage, fet up for themfelves, and affume regal authority, each in his own pro-. vince. The puiffant Affyrian monarchy, one of the earlieft we read of in hiftory, after having been long a terror to its neighbours, was difmembered by the governors of Media and of Babylon, who detached thefe extenfive provinces from the monarchy. Mahomet and his immediate fucceffors erected a great empire, of which Bagdat became the capital. The latter Califfs of that race, poifoned with fenfual pleasure, loft all vigour of mind, and funk down into floth and effeminacy. The governors of the diftant provinces were the firft who ventured to declare themselves independent. Their fuccefs invited other governors, who ftripped the Califf of his remaining provinces, leaving him nothing but the city of Bagdat; and of that he was deprived by the Tartars, who put an end to that once illuftrious monarchy. The fame would have been the fate of the Perfian empire, had it not been subdued by Alexander of Macedon. But, after his death, it fubmitted to the ordinary fate: his generals affumed regal power, each of them in the province he governed. Had not the Roman empire been dismembered by the Barbarians, it would have been difmembered by the governors of its provinces. The weakness of Charlemagne's fucceffors hatched in France and in Germany an endless number of petty fovereigns. About the time that a paffage to the Eaft-Indies by the Cape of Good-Hope was difcovered, the great peninfula beyond the Ganges was comprehended under the powerful empire of Bifnagar. Its firft monarchs had established themfelves by valour and military knowledge. In war, they headed their troops: in peace, they directed their mini