And if this does not take place within the
necessary time, its blemishes will go on increasing, till they cannot be
removed, but with the dominion itself. And this restoration, he says,
may either happen accidentally, or by the design and forethought of the
laws or of a man of extraordinary virtue. And we cannot doubt, that this
matter is of the greatest importance, and that, where provision has not
been made against this inconvenience, the dominion will not be able to
endure by its own excellence, but only by good fortune; and on the other
hand that, where a proper remedy has been applied to this evil, it will
not be possible for it to fall by its own fault, but only by some
inevitable fate, as we shall presently show more clearly. The first
remedy, that suggested itself for this evil, was to appoint every five
years a supreme dictator for one or two months, who should have the
right to inquire, decide, and make ordinances concerning the acts of the
senators and of every official, and thereby to bring back the dominion
to its first principle. But he who studies to avoid the inconveniences,
to which a dominion is liable, must apply remedies that suit its nature,
and can be derived from its own foundations; otherwise in his wish to
avoid Charybdis he falls upon Scylla. It is, indeed, true that all, as
well rulers as ruled, ought to be restrained by fear of punishment or
loss, so that they may not do wrong with impunity or even advantage;
but, on the other hand, it is certain, that if this fear becomes common
to good and bad men alike, the dominion must be in the utmost danger.
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