that arises from the government they have to manage becoming too
unwieldly =sic=, or too complicated; in either case, a check, though
but of short duration, is irretrievable. This is a great oversight, and, at
least, greatly augments the chances against the durability of a
government. In proportion as the machine is unmanageable and
complex, the embarrassment of those who have the conduct of it will
be great, and the enemies will be proportionately bold and audacious.
In all such conflicts, much depends on the spirit of the combatants,
and more still on that of those who, at first, are lookers on, who act in
consequence of the opinion they have of the force or feebleness of
either party. {145}

The tendency that a nation has to decline is not, then, in general,
counteracted, by the government; but, on the contrary, is pushed on by
it, and precipitated into the gulf. No wonder, then, that the career is
rapid, and the fall irretrievable.

It is, nevertheless, to the government, and to it alone, that we must
look for that counteracting force that is to stay the general current.
Individuals can only look to their own conduct, and they neither can

---
{145} Not only when the French revolution began, but a hundred
times afterwards, did the party triumph that appeared the strongest,
merely because it appeared so. All those who stand neutral at first,
take a side the moment they have fixed their opinion as to the strength
of the contending parties, and this decision is always in favour of the
party they think the strongest.
-=-