however,therewasnodifferenceofopinionintheconclusion,thatitcouldnotbeeffected。Thereasonswhichtheythoughtwouldwithcertaintyprevailagainstit,were1。thatouryouth,notfamiliarizedbutwiththeirmothertongue,werenotpreparedtoreceiveinstructionsinanyother;2d。thattheexpenceoftheinstitutionwouldexciteuneasinessintheirconstituents,&endangerit’spermanence;&3。thatit’sextentwasdisproportionedtothenarrowstateofthepopulationwithus。Whatevermightbeurgedontheseseveralsubjects,yetasthedecisionrestedwithothers,thereremainedtousonlytoregretthatcircumstancesweresuch,orwerethoughttobesuch,astodisappointyour&ourwishes。Ishouldhaveseenwithpeculiarsatisfactiontheestablishmentofsuchamassofscienceinmycountry,andshouldprobablyhavebeentemptedtoapproachmyselftoit,byprocuringaresidenceinit’sneighborhood,atthoseseasonsoftheyearatleastwhentheoperationsofagriculturearelessactiveandinteresting。Isincerelylamentthecircumstanceswhichhavesuggestedthisemigration。IhadhopedthatGenevawasfamiliarizedtosuchadegreeofliberty,thattheymightwithoutdifficultyordangerfillupthemeasuretoitsmaximum;aterm,which,thoughintheinsulatedman,boundedonlybyhisnaturalpowers,must,insociety,besofarrestrictedastoprotecthimselfagainsttheevilpassionsofhisassociates,&consequently,themagainsthim。Isuspectthatthedoctrine,thatsmallStatesalonearefittedtoberepublics,willbeexplodedbyexperience,withsomeotherbrilliantfallaciesaccreditedbyMontesquieu&otherpoliticalwriters。Perhapsitwillbefound,thattoobtainajustrepublicanditistosecureourjustrightsthatweresorttogovernmentatallitmustbesoextensiveasthatlocalegoismsmayneverreachit’sgreaterpart;thatoneveryparticularquestion,amajoritymaybefoundinit’scouncilsfreefromparticularinterests,andgiving,therefore,anuniformprevalencetotheprinciplesofjustice。Thesmallerthesocieties,themoreviolent&moreconvulsivetheirschisms。Wehavechancedtoliveinanagewhichwillprobablybedistinguishedinhistory,forit’sexperimentsingovernmentonalargerscalethanhasyettakenplace。Butweshallnotlivetoseetheresult。Thegrosserabsurdities,suchashereditarymagistracies,weshallseeexplodedinourday,longexperiencehavingalreadypronouncedcondemnationagainstthem。Butwhatistobethesubstitute?Thisourchildrenorgrandchildrenwillanswer。
Wemaybesatisfiedwiththecertainknowledgethatnonecaneverbetried,sostupid,sounrighteous,sooppressive,sodestructiveofeveryendforwhichhonestmenenterintogovernment,asthatwhichtheirforefathershadestablished,&theirfathersaloneventuretotumbleheadlongfromthestationstheyhavesolongabused。Itisunfortunate,thattheeffortsofmankindtorecoverthefreedomofwhichtheyhavebeensolongdeprived,willbeaccompaniedwithviolence,witherrors,&evenwithcrimes。Butwhileweweepoverthemeans,wemustprayfortheend——ButIhavebeeninsensiblyledbythegeneralcomplexionofthetimes,fromtheparticularcaseofGeneva,tothosetowhichitbearsnosimilitude。Ofthatwehopegoodthings。Itsinhabitantsmustbetoomuchenlightened,toowellexperiencedintheblessingsoffreedomandundisturbedindustry,totoleratelongacontrarystateofthings。Ishallbehappytohearthattheirgovernmentperfectsitself,andleavesroomforthehonest,theindustrious&wise;inwhichcase,yourowntalents,&
thoseofthepersonsforwhomyouhaveinterestedyourself,will,I
amsure,findwelcome&distinction。Mygoodwisheswillalwaysattendyou,asaconsequenceoftheesteem®ardwithwhichIam,DearSir,yourmostobedient&mosthumbleservant。
ABJURINGTHEPRESIDENCY