they are backed by a fulness of arbitrary power. But to hang up the tables of proscription, without the power of sending centurions to cut off every head that wears a face disliked at court, would be madness in a prince. Such a conduct cannot suit his interest, however it may his passions, in any circumstance whatever. There are indeed circumstances, wherein it may suit the interest of a minister. Till the sword of civil war be drawn, a prince can scarce become irreconcilable with his people, and be reduced for want of national strength, to support his power and dignity by the force of faction. But a minister may fall easily and soon into this desperate state: and after fomenting, as long as he could, the divisions of parties, he may have no refuge but in faction. There may be such a conduct, as no national party will bear, or at least will justify. But faction hath no regard to national interests. Faction therefore will bear any thing, share in any thing, justify any thing. If the minister, who takes this method to sup port himself, hath any art, he will endeavour to disguise his faction under the name and ap pearance of a national party. But even this disguise will soon fall off. The best of those, who were engaged in the party, will quit the faction, and then the latter must stand confessed to public view. But it is not only the criminal conduct of a minister, and the fear of resting his administration on the national judgment, that may oblige him to govern by division, and by faction. As the most opposite notions are often united in the head, so are the most contrary sentiments in the heart VOL. III.

C

of

of man. Incapacity often begets sufficiency; and yet a consciousness of incapacity often begets a jealousy of power, grounded on a sense of the superior merit of other men. The minister, who grows less by his elevation, like a little statue placed on a mighty pedestal, will always have this jealousy strong about him. He must of course select a faction to himself; and this faction must be composed, to answer his purposes, of men servilely obsequious, or extremely inferior to him by their talents. Whenever this happens, the reign of venality, of prostitution, of ignorance, of futility, and of dulness commences. The minister will dread to see the persons employed whom he secretly esteems, for this very reason, because he esteems them. Abilities to serve the commonwealth will be an objection sufficient to outweigh the strongest proofs of attachment to the person of the prince, and of zeal for his government; nay, even the merit of a whole life spent in giving these proofs. In short, the very reasons that should determine the prince to employ men, will determine the minister to proscribe them. Dislike, or contempt of him, will pass with his master for disaffection to the government; and, under this pompous name of government, will nothing but the paltry interest, or humour, of the minister be couched. The minister will reap, perhaps, for even that may be doubtful, the immediate benefit of dividing, or maintaining the divisions of the nation, and of nursing up faction, by continuing longer in power, his sole security; and, by deferring, if not escaping, the evil day, the

day

day of account and retribution. But the prince will reap, in this case, the permanent mischief of establishing division and faction; and may possibly make the lamentable exchange of his own popularity, for his minister's impunity. I need not finish up this picture of imagination, since I write to you, who know so much better than I pretend to do the characters of men, and the arts of government. It is sufficient, that I have hinted at the general causes and effects of the endeavours, that are sometimes used, and to which Great Britain hath not been a stranger, to foment national divisions, and to govern by the faction of a minister, armed with the power of the prince, against the sense and spirit of a nation, and the interest of the prince himself. This may serve; and it is all I shall say, to bespeak your approbation of the papers that follow, on account of the matter they contain.

But, sir, the reasons I have given, how pertinent soever they may be, are not the only reasons I had for addressing myself, in this manner, and upon this occasion, to you. There are reasons of another kind; reasons that come still more home to yourself; reasons, that appear very important to me, and that will appear so to you, perhaps, when you have reflected duly on them, and have weighed impartially the consequences of them. I shall press these reasons with all the plainness and force that decency permits,in so publick and personal an application; because, though truth may sometimes offend, I am very indifferent to offences taken with truth on my side. If you hearken

to truth, which men in your station seldom hear,

you may be the better for it. If you

do not,

the author of this dedication cannot be the worse: for I will add, upon this occasion, that whoever he is, he is one you cannot impose upon, in your private capacity, neither as a man, nor as a gentleman; and that you can as little do it, in your publick capacity. You cannot disappoint him ; because the temper of his mind gives you no hold on him. He hath neither avarice to make him desire riches, nor ambition to make him desire power, nor vanity to make him desire honours. You cannot oppress him; because he is free from guilt, and from every probable, for no man is free from every possible, imputation of guilt. The laws of his country are his protection, and they are sufficient to protect every Briton, who reverences and obeys them, in how peculiar a situation soever he may be found. They, who act against these laws, and they alone, may have reason to fear, let their situation be never so high, or their present power never so great.

Having said this, I proceed to observe to you, that you are in the right most certainly to retort by yourself, or others, in the best and smartest manner that you, or they can, whatever the writings published in the Craftsman* may contain, which you judge to be injurious to yourself, or reflecting on your administration. The publick will judge uprightly upon the whole matter. The laughers will be for those who have most wit, and the serious

* A political paper published weekly at that time, under the assumed name of Caleb D'Anvers.

part

7

part of mankind for those who have most reason on their side.

Again. As to affairs of peace, or war, publick occurrences, domestic management, foreign negotiations, in short, the news of the day, and the current business of the time, weekly and daily papers, or more elaborate, anniversary treatises, are properly employed by you to explain, in your own favour, the series of your conduct; to refute Caleb; or, which is still more easy, and by some thought as useful, to keep up the cavil on one point, till a new one is started, that draws off the attention of the world. All this may be called fair war; and whoever prevails in the judgment of the publick, the publick will reap information from the contest, and will have reason to be pleased with these appeals, which present an image of the custom that obtained in the ancient commonwealths of Greece and Rome, where the greatest interests of the state were debated, and the greatest men in those governments were accused and de fended, in publick harangues, and before the whole people.

But the writings of the Craftsman have not been confined to these subjects that are personal or temporary. The cause of the British consti tution hath been pleaded through the whole course of these papers; every danger to it hath been pointed out; every security, or improvement of it, hath been explained and pressed.Now here, sir, begins my complaint. I said that the cause of our constitution hath been pleaded in the Craftsman; and I am sorry that the expression is