Essays, Moral, Political, and Literary - Faculty of Social Sciences

94 ESSAY I. 1,iBERTY OF TTTE PRESS. 95of the greater part of men. You will seldom find, that meremen of the world, whatever strong sense they may be endowedwith, are very nice in distinguishing characters, or inmarking those insensible differences and gradations, whichmake one man preferable to another. Any one, that hascompetent sense, is sufficient for their entertainment : Theytalk to him, of their pleasme and affairs, with the samefrankness that they would to another ; and finding many,who are fit to supply his place, they never feel any vacancyor want in his absence. But to make use of the allusion ota celebrated French1 author, the judgment may be comparedto a clock or watch, where the most ordinary machine issufficient to tell the hours ; but the most elaborate alone(:an point out the minutes and seconds, and distinguish thesmallest differences of time. One that has well digested hisknowledge both of books and men, has little enjoyment bulin the coinpany of a few select companions. He feels toosensibly, how much all the rest of mankind fall short of thenotions wliich he has entertained. And, his affections beingthus confined within a narrow circle, no wonder he carricbsthem further, than if they were more general and undistinguished.The gaiety and frolic of a bottle coinpanionimproves with him into a solid friendship : And the ardoursof a youthful appetite become an elegant passion.ESSAY 11.-Of the Liberty of the Press.NOTHING is more apt to surprize a foreigner, than the ex-- treme liberty, which we enjoy in this coontry, of communicatingwhatever we pleme to the public, and of openlycensuring every measure, entered into by the king or hisministers. If the administration resolve upon war, it isaffirmed, that, either wilfully or ignorantly, they mistakethe interests of the nation, and that peace, in the presentsituation af affairs, is infinitely preferable. If the passionof the ministers lie towards peace, our political writersbreathe nothing but war and devastation, and represent thepacific conduct of the government as mean and pusillanimous.As this liberty is not indulged in any other government,either republican or monarchical ; in HOLLAND and VENICE,Mons. FONTENELLE, Pluralitd des Mondes. Soir. 6.Inore than in FRANCE or SPAIN ; it may very naturally giveoccasion to a question, How it huppefis that GREAT BRITAINenjoys this pecz~liar privilege ?The reason, why the laws indulge us in such a libertyseems to be derived from our mixed form of government,which is neither wholly monarchical, nor wholly republican.It will be found, if I mistake not, a true observation inpolitics, that the two extremes i11 gorernment, liberty andslavery, commonly approach nearest to each other; andthat, as you depart from the extremes, and mix a littleof monarchy with liberty, the government becomes alwaysthe more free; and on the other hand, when you mix a littleof liberty with monarchy, the yoke becomes always the moregrievous and int~lerable.~ In a government, such as that ofFRANCE, which is absolute, and where law, custom, andreligion concur, all of them, to make people fully satisfiedwith their condition, the monarch cannot entertain anyjealousy against his subjects, and therefore is apt to indulgethem in great liberties both of speech and action. In agovernment altogether republican, such as that of HOLLAND,where there is no magistrate so eminent as to give jealousyto the state, there is no danger in intrusting the magistrateswith large discretionary powers ; and though many advantagesresult from such powers, in preserving peace andorder, yet they lay a considerable restraint on men's actions,and make every private citizen pay a great respect to thegovernment. Thus it seems evident, that the two extremesof absolute monarchy and of a republic, approach near toeach other in some material circumstances. In the first, themagistrate has no jealousy of the people : in the second, thepeople have none of the magistrate : Which want of jealousybegets a mutual confidence and trust in both cases, and producesa species of liberty in monarchies, and of arbitrarypower in republics.To justify the other part of the foregoing observation,that, in every government, the means are most wide of eachother, and that the mixtures of monarchy and liberty renderthe yoke more easy or more grievous; I must take notice ofa remark in TACITUS with regard to the ROMANS under the'[And whether the unlimited exercise [I shall endeavour to explain myofthis liberty be advantageous or pre- self.-Editions D to Y.]judicial to the public?-- Editions A to P.]