CHAPTER XX. -- III.--FROM ALL YOUR STUDY OF HISTORY, WHAT DEDUCTIONS DO YOU DRAW AS TO THE FINAL DECLINE AND FALL, IF SUCH A THING IS EVER TO BE, OF THIS REPUBLIC?
|TO the casual reader, the relationship that this question bears to "Secrets of the Late Rebellion, now Revealed for the First Time," may seem very obscure, but to our mind, that sees the end from the beginning, the relationship seems very close, as our readers will also see, we think, before we close the answer.
Patrick Henry, in one of his outbursts of eloquence, said he "knew of no way to judge of the future save by the past." Taking this as our guide, let us inquire somewhat into the history of former republics, and see if we cannot gather therefrom some probabilities as to the future of our own, and some light by which to guide our own footsteps meanwhile. Our plan and limited space will only permit us to take a bird's-eye view of four--Athens, Sparta, Thebes, and Rome--but even from these alone we may learn some useful lessons.
The republic of Athens came into existence immediately after the voluntary death of King Codrus, about 1068 years before Christ. Codrus having been made to believe, through an oracle, that if he sacrificed his own life, his country would be victorious over the Heraclidæ, with whom they were then engaged in war, disguised himself as a peasant, and, purposely quarrelling with a soldier of the hostile army, procured the death he wished. His sons, Medon and Nileus, disputed the succession to the crown; and the Athenians, taking advantage of this dispute, determined to set aside the crown altogether, and thenceforth have a representative or republican form of government. Hence arose the Athenian Republic. Though they abolished the title of king, out of the high regard they had for Codrus, they appointed his son Medon chief magistrate for life, and even made the office hereditary, so that for three hundred and thirty-one years thereafter the chief magistrate continued in that family. They then abolished the perpetual archonship, and made the tenure of the office ten years. This term they reduced erelong to one year, and, instead of one archon or chief magistrate, appointed nine, with equal authority. Meanwhile their government became so purely democratic as to become utterly despotic, and the tyranny of the mob was found to be more oppressive than the restraints of a single ruler. Then followed the laws of Draco, which, because of their severity, were said to have been "written in blood." He made no distinction of offences, but punished all equally with death. He weakened the authority of the Areopagus, and instituted a new tribunal, in which judges were given almost unlimited power, and virtually made brutes. The severity of his laws defeated their own object.