of the city by one tribe of barbarians to the sack of the city by
another tribe of barbarians. Between lay something akin to a democratic
commonwealth. Then games, and bribes for the populace, with dictators
and Cæsars, while later the Prætorian Guard sold the royal purple to the
highest bidder. After which came Alaric, the Goth, and night. Since when
democracy lay dormant for some fifteen centuries. We may claim with
reason that our Nation has had the guidance of Providence; we may know
that our form of government must ultimately prevail upon earth; but what
guaranty have we that it shall be maintained here? What proof that some
unlineal hand, some barbarism, without or within, shall not wrench the
sceptre of democracy from our grasp? The rule of princes, the privilege
of birth, has come down through the ages; the rule of the people has not
yet marked a century and a half. There is no absolute proof, no positive
guaranty, but there is hope and high expectation, and the path is not
uncharted.

It may be some help to know that, however much of glory, there is no
magic in American democracy. Let us examine some more of this
Declaration of ours, and examine it in the light of the events of those
solemn days in which it was adopted.

Men of every clime have lavished much admiration upon the first part of
the Declaration of Independence, and rightly so, for it marked the entry
of new forces and new ideals into human affairs. Its admirers have
sometimes failed in their attempts to live by it, but none have
successfully disputed its truth. It is the realization of the true
glory and worth of man, which, when once admitted, wrought vast changes
that have marked all history since its day. All this relates to natural
rights, fascinating to dwell upon, but not sufficient to live by. The
signers knew that well; more important still, the people whom they