Page:A Vindication of Natural Society - Burke (1756).djvu/81

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[71]

First then, all Men are agreed, that this Junction of Regal, Aristocratick, and Popular Power, must form a very complex, nice, and intricate Machine, which being composed of such a variety of Parts, with such opposite Tendencies and Movements, it must be liable on every Accident to be disordered. To speak without Metaphor, such a Government must be liable to frequent Cabals, Tumults, and Revolutions, from it's very Constitution. These are undoubtedly as ill Effects, as can happen in a Society; for in such a Case, the Closeness acquired by Community, instead of serving for mutual Defence, serves only to increase the Danger. Such a System is like a City, where Trades that require constant Fires are much exercised, where the Houses are built of combustible Materials, and where they stand extremely close.

In the second Place, the several constituent Parts having their distinct Rights,and