Chap. VIII. A N T I E N T M E T A P H Y S I C S. 175 



of. But, before I come to treat of their government in particu- 

 lar, 1 will fay fomething of government in general, and explain the 

 principles upon which I think all good government muft be found- 

 ed. 



It is government that conftitutes civil fociety, and makes man, of 

 a folitary and gregarious animal, a Political ammal ; and fo enables- 

 him to invent and cultivate faiences, by which only he can in this 

 life make any progrefs in recovering from his fallen eftate. With- 

 out the ufe of arts and fciences to a certain degree, 1 have fhown 

 both from reafon and fads that men could not have had even the 

 idea of a God, nor indeed of any intelledual being*: For it is only 

 by the ftudy of ourfelves, and of our own minds, of which men in 

 the mere natural ftate, or in the firft ages of fociety, have not the ca- 

 pacity, that we can know what intelligence is. But if we could 

 fuppofe that men without arts or fciences might be religious, even 

 religion without government could not make men happy ; for it is 

 government that muft guide and dire£l the exercifes of religion, 

 which, if not properly guided and direded, may produce, and often 

 have produced, great mifchief in a nation. Government, therefore, 

 is of abfolute neceflity in the civilifed life ; and a good fyftem of go- 

 vernment is the greateft difcovery of fcience and phllofophy, as well 

 as the moft ufeful, that ever was made by man. And I think 1 Ihall 

 be able to fhow, that it was firft difcovered in Egypt. This 

 I may be faid to have proved already, as 1 have fliown that fo 

 many arts and fciences were invented in Egypt, which could not have 

 been without a regular form of polity, and one particularly calculat- 

 ed for the invention and cultivation of arts and fciences. As govern- 

 ment is a moft important part of the hiftory of man, I will here 

 explain the nature of it, and give fome account of the firft govern- 

 ments among men, and of the progrefs of them from one ftate to 

 another. 



That 

 • See Chap. VI. of this book. 



