not expressly told us.

(17:109) These preliminaries being stated, it is now time to inquire the
effects of forming a dominion on this plan, and to see whether it so
effectually kept within bounds both rulers and ruled, that the former were
never tyrannical and the latter never rebellious.

(17:110) Those who administer or possess governing power, always try to
surround their high-handed actions with a cloak of legality, and to persuade
the people that they act from good motives; this they are easily able to
effect when they are the sole interpreters of the law; for it is evident
that they are thus able to assume a far greater freedom to carry out their
wishes and desires than if the interpretation if the law is vested in
someone else, or if the laws were so self-evident that no one could be in
doubt as to their meaning. [17:8] (111) We thus see that the power of evil-
doing was greatly curtailed for the Hebrew captains by the fact that the
whole interpretation of the law was vested in the Levites (Deut. xxi:5),
who, on their part, had no share in the government, and depended for all
their support and consideration on a correct interpretation of the laws
entrusted to them. (112) Moreover, the whole people was commanded to come
together at a certain place every seven years and be instructed in the law
by the high-priest; further, each individual was bidden to read the book of
the law through and through continually with scrupulous care. (Deut. xxxi:9,
10, and vi:7.) (113) The captains were thus for their own sakes bound to
take great care to administer everything according to the laws laid down,
and well known to all, if they, wished to be held in high honour by, the
people, who would regard them as the administrators of God's dominion, and
as God's vicegerents; otherwise they could not have escaped all the
virulence of theological hatred. (114) There was another very important
check on the unbridled license of the captains, in the fact, that the army