Page:Montesquieu - The spirit of laws.djvu/140
THE SPIRIT
B o^o K j n countries where there are no fundamental laws, Chan 14 tne fuccefiion to the empire cannot be fixed. The crown is then elective, and the right of electing is in the prince, who names a fucceflbr either of his own or of fonae other family. In vain would it be to eftablifh here the fucceflion of the eldeft fon ; the prince might always chufe another. The fucceflbr is declared by the prince himfelf, or by a civil war. Hence a defpotic {late is, upon another account, more liable than a monarchical government to diflblution. As every prince of the royal family is held equally capable of being chofen, hence it follows that the prince who afcends the throne, flrangles immediate ly his brothers, as inTurky ; or puts out their eyes, as in Perfia; or bereaves them of their underftand- ing, as in the Mogul s country > or if thefe precau tions are not ufed, as in Morocco, the vacancy of the throne is always attended with a horrid civil war. ( h )Seethe By the conititutions of Ruflla ( h ) the Czar may chufe who he has a mind for his fucceiTor, whether ons, efpe- ^ ^ s own or of a ftrange family. Such a fettlement cialiv that produces a thoufand revolutions, and renders the / " 2 throne as tottering as the fucceflion is arbitrary.
The right of fucceflion being one of thofe things which are of moft importance to the people to know ; the beft is that which moft fenfibly ftrikes them, fuch as a certain order of birth.
A fettlement of this kind puts a ftop to intrigues, and flifles ambition ; the mind of a weak prince is no longer inflaved, nor is he made to (peak his will as he is juft expiring.
When the fucceflion is eflablifhed by a funda mental law, only one prince is the fucceflbr, and his brothers have neither a real nor apparent right to
difpute
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