I5O EXCURSION" TO THE REALMS BELOW. 



feized at length by violence what would not have been 

 granted them with good-will, and the ariftocracy chan- 

 ged into a democracy. This latter bordered fo near on 

 anarchy, that emergencies muff, of neceffity from time 

 te-time arife, wherein fome favourite, artful, and en- 

 terprifing man mould be able to make a powerful ftand, 

 and by means of that, procure himfelf the fole fove- 

 reignty. Thus arofe the petty tyrants , as you Greeks 

 were ufed to term them, by whom fome of your repub- 

 lics were fometimes well and fometimes badly govern- 

 ed. Even ^tlle great, though quickly-terminating mo- 

 narchies of Alexander and Antiochus the great, had no 

 other origin than preponderating power : , and the Ro- 

 mans, by means of this overbalance of power, became 

 the mailers and opprefTors of the world, fo foon as it 

 had been decided by force of arms, that neither Car- 

 thage, nor Pyrrhus, nor Antiochus, nor Mithridates, 

 could controvert their fovereignty. In fhort, it is, of 

 all matters of fact the moit undeniable, that all the mo- 

 narchies and republics that have ever exilred in the 

 world, have owed their exigence to the overbalancing 

 ftrength of them by whom they were founded ; and it 

 is accordingly agreed, and will be agreed fo long as 

 mankind exill : 



Command, who can ; obey, who mufh 



Xenoph. You have both fo clearly explained your- 

 felves, that I believe I perfectly comprehend your no- 

 tions ; and I thereby find myfelf confirmed in what I 

 have before advanced. So foon as you do but rightly 

 underfrand yourfelves, I think all three of us will be of 

 one and the fame opinion on this fubjeel:. 



Menipp. That will be matter of very great furprife 

 to me ! 



3 Xenoph,. 



