Each of them has a qualification,an endowment,to itself.Each of them is completely characterized by this qualification.No intimation is given of any pre-eminence among these qualifications,one above another.Should there be any dispute concerning the preference to be given to any of these forms of government,as proper a method as any of settling it,to judge from this view of them,is that of cross and pile.Hence we may infer,that all the governments that ever were,or will be (except a very particular one that we shall come to presently,that is to say our own)are upon a par:that of ATHENS with that of PERSIA;that of GENEVA with that of Morocco:
since they are all of them,he tells us,`corruptions of,or reducible to',one of these.This is happy.A legislator cannot do amiss.He may save himself the expence of thinking.The choice of a king was once determined,we are told,by the neighing of a horse.'The choice of a form of Government might be determined so as well.
28.As to our own form of government,however,this,it is plain,being that which it seemed good to take for the theme of his panegyric,and being made out of the other three,will possess the advantages of all of them put together;and that without any of the disadvantages;the disadvantages vanishing at the word of command,or even without it,as not being suitable to the purpose.
29.At the end of the paragraph which gives us the above definitions,one observation there is that is a little puzzling.`Other species of government',we are given to understand,there are besides these;but then those others,if not `reducible to',are but `corruptions of these'.Now,what there is in any of these to be corrupted,is not so easy to understand.The essence of these several forms of government,we must always remember,is placed by him,solely and entirely,in the article of number:in the ratio of the number of the Governors,(for so for shortness we will style those in whose hands is lodged this `power of making laws')to that of the governed.
If the number of the former be,to that of the latter,as one to all,then is the form of Government a Monarchy:if as all to all,then is it a Democracy:
if as some number between one and all to all,then is it an Aristocracy.
Now then,if we can conceive a fourth number,which not being more than all,is neither one nor all,nor any thing between one and all,we can conceive a form of Government,which,upon due proof,may appear to be a corruption of some one or other of these three.(62)If not,we must look for the corruption somewhere else:Suppose it were in our Author's reason.(63)30.Not but that we may meet,indeed,with several other hard worded names for forms of Government:but these names were only so many names for one or other of those three.We hear often of a Tyranny:but this is neither more nor less than the name a man gives to our Author's Monarchy,when out of humour with it.It is still the government of number one.We hear now and then,too,of a sort of Government called an Oligarchy:but this is neither more nor less than the name a man gives to our Author's Aristocracy,in the same case.It is still the Government of some number or other,between one and all.In fine,we hear now and then of a sort of government fit to break one's teeth,called an Ochlocracy:but this is neither more nor less than the name a man gives to a Democracy in the same case.It is still that sort of government,which,according to our Author,is the Government of all.
