It was given
them for the public good and safety, and to those ends, in the
infancies of commonwealths, they commonly used it; and unless they had
done so, young societies could not have subsisted. Without such
nursing fathers, without this care of the governors, all governments
would have sunk under the weakness and infirmities of their infancy,
the prince and the people had soon perished together.
111. But the golden age (though before vain ambition, and amor
sceleratus habendi, evil concupiscence had corrupted men's minds
into a mistake of true power and honour) had more virtue, and
consequently better governors, as well as less vicious subjects; and
there was then no stretching prerogative on the one side to oppress
the people, nor, consequently, on the other, any dispute about
privilege, to lessen or restrain the power of the magistrate; and so
no contest betwixt rulers and people about governors or government.*
Yet, when ambition and luxury, in future ages, would retain and
increase the power, without doing the business for which it was given,
and aided by flattery, taught princes to have distinct and separate
interests from their people, men found it necessary to examine more
carefully the original and rights of government, and to find out
ways to restrain the exorbitances and prevent the abuses of that
power, which they having entrusted in another's hands, only for
their own good, they found was made use of to hurt them.
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