iv PREFACE. 
Metaphysicians, geometers, and astronomers, applied the 
compasses of abstraction to human passions, propensities, 
and habits: the minds of men were alienated from kings, 
and became enamoured of political philosophy. ‘The old 
government of France was completely subverted ; religion 
and morality were equally despised ; dominion was gra- 
dually transferred, from well meaning men, perhaps, to 
bad—from bad to worse ; and the maxim of the noble phi- 
losopher, statesman, and historian of Rome was inverted *. 
A bloody anarchy was erected on the ruinsof social subordi- 
nation. Theruling party, armed at once with enthusiasm, 
and a command of the finance and whole property of the 
nation, trampled on the rights of their fellow-citizens, and 
held the law of nations and foreign treaties in derision. In 
the pretended pursuit of liberty, they violated all regard to 
humanity. The lawswere without force; innocence without 
protection ; obscurity and indigence, or a participation in 
crimes, the only safety. The destructive infection of this 
attempt to reduce what is called the modern philosophy into 
practice, spread rapidly abroad before the effects of the fa- 
tal experiment were known at home: and it would be dif- 
ficult to determine whether the progress of the evil was 
more forwarded by the ill-judged exertions of individu- 
als, whether by political writers, statesmen, or sovereign 
princes, to oppose it,—or, by the impunity with which it 
had been suffered, in its commencement, to prevail in 
France, and to extend to every country in Europe. 
While the atrocities of democracy pled the cause of mo- 
narchical and even absolute governments, the insatiate am- 
bition, and unprincipled policy of monarchs, not more 
shamefully than foolishly displayed in the partition of Po- 
* Tta imperium semper ad optumum quemque a minus bono trans- 
fertur, ’ 
land, 
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