Free Political Propositions

And do all such nose-wise presumptuous or meddlesome and arrogant founders of a Politie polity/government not darkly and unchangeably presume a greater knowledge, not only than all the present, but also as if they would be able to grasp and understand all future peoples for their own benefit? And this I hold to be one of the most detestable errors that such a man of respect and standing could commit to the ruin of the general, invaluable, and equal freedom. Therefore, he might also not very unjustly be counted among the deceivers of the people, especially when one also pays attention to his pretended oracles, etc., with which so many other old and younger pretended Polities—for lack of unerring and consequently divine reason—are generally permeated. Regarding Rome, in which our above-mentioned writer Niccolò Machiavelli finds most of his speculation and pleasure, he says even further in the aforementioned Chapter 2 with these words as a summary: "Then Rome began to lay the foundation of her greatness and incomparable Majesty through this mixing of the three states, which each had their power and standing there, etc. Never did she remove all power from the Kings to give it to the senate, nor from those of the same kind to give it to the people: she only trimmed that which was too much in each, and left the three in a company of the realm, and through this trinity became as great as one knows." I add, with permission, also as generally as miserable and destroyed as one knows. And that, in my judgment, for no other reason than that the Roman people were provided with an abundance of stolen goods and a multitude of superstition rather than any good and reasoned instruction toward the knowledge of a righteous and free governance of the people. For the excellent men among them, being enticed and obsessed with robbery and plunder, thought of nothing else but what might serve, besides obtaining that, for their greater esteem, greatness, and security. Wherefore they strove to keep the common people, even in all superstitions and idolatries, to the point of nausea, most carefully through all kinds of deceits and knaveries, and to lead them to continuous slaughter, to war, and to robbery. And thus they finally brought about their own ruin and downfall. And behold there now also the true and proper, indeed necessary fruits of these Machiavellian, highly-touted, three mixed Political States, and christened by him with the name of Trinity. And consequently, I judge this pretended mixing of states to be as little a worthy government as a fair-shining yet foul, pox-ridden body can be viewed and recognized as pure and healthy. Rather, that it must necessarily—without the people's singular, highest, and most worthy authority—plunge into death and unavoidable ruin and is created for downfall. For all bodies of state, being infected with some prominent authority, let alone above the people's authority,