4.7. 7. In what Cases these singular Institutions may be of Service.
Institutions of this kind may be proper in republics, because they
have virtue for their principle; but to excite men to honour in
monarchies, or to inspire fear in despotic governments, less trouble is
necessary.
Besides, they can take place but in a small state,
[10]
in which there is a possibility of general education, and of training up the body
of the people like a single family.
The laws of Minos, of Lycurgus, and of Plato suppose a particular
attention and care, which the citizens ought to have over one another's
conduct. But an attention of this kind cannot be expected in the
confusion and multitude of affairs in which a large nation is entangled.
In institutions of this kind, money, as we have above observed, must
be banished. But in great societies, the multiplicity, variety,
embarrassment, and importance of affairs, as well as the facility of
purchasing, and the slowness of exchange, require a common measure. In
order to support or extend our power, we must be possessed of the means
to which, by the unanimous consent of mankind, this power is annexed.
Footnotes
[10]
Such as were formerly the cities of Greece.
