This is the old trick of those who would usurp the
government of their country. In the name of democracy they speak,
warning the people against the influence of wealth and the danger
of aristocracy. History, ancient and modern, is full of such
examples. Caesar became the master of the Roman people and the
senate under the pretense of supporting the democratic claims of
the former against the aristocracy of the latter; Cromwell, in the
character of protector of the liberties of the people, became the
dictator of England, and Bolivar possessed himself of unlimited
power with the title of his country's liberator. There is, on the
contrary, no instance on record of an extensive and well-
established republic being changed into an aristocracy. The
tendencies of all such governments in their decline is to
monarchy, and the antagonist principle to liberty there is the
spirit of faction--a spirit which assumes the character and in
times of great excitement imposes itself upon the people as the
genuine spirit of freedom, and, like the false Christs whose
coming was foretold by the Savior, seeks to, and were it possible
would, impose upon the true and most faithful disciples of
liberty. It is in periods like this that it behooves the people to
be most watchful of those to whom they have intrusted power.
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