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<v Speaker 1>Part three of Common Sense by Thomas Paine. This LibriVox

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<v Speaker 1>recording is in the public domain of monarchy and hereditary succession.

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<v Speaker 1>Mankind being originally equals in the order of creation, the

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<v Speaker 1>equality can only be destroyed by some subsequent circumstance. The

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<v Speaker 1>distinctions of rich and poor may in a great measure

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<v Speaker 1>be accounted for, and that without having recourse to the harsh,

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<v Speaker 1>ill sounding names of oppression and avarice. Oppression is often

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<v Speaker 1>the consequence, but seldom are never the means of riches.

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<v Speaker 1>And though avarice will preserve a man from being necessitously poor,

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<v Speaker 1>it generally makes him too timorous to be wealthy. But

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<v Speaker 1>there is another and greater distinction for which no truly

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<v Speaker 1>natural or religious reason can be assigned, and that is

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<v Speaker 1>the distinction of men into kings and subjects. Male and

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<v Speaker 1>female are the distinctions of nature, good and bad, the

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<v Speaker 1>distinctions of heaven. But how a race of men came

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<v Speaker 1>into the world so exalted above the rest and distinguished

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<v Speaker 1>like some new species, is worth inquiring into. And whether

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<v Speaker 1>they are the means of happiness are of misery to mankind.

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<v Speaker 1>In the early ages of the world, According to the

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<v Speaker 1>Scripture chronology, there were no kings, the consequence of which

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<v Speaker 1>was there were no wars. It is the pride of

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<v Speaker 1>kings which throw mankind into confusion. Holland without a king,

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<v Speaker 1>hath enjoyed more peace for this last century than any

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<v Speaker 1>of the monarchical governments in Europe. Antiquity favors the same

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<v Speaker 1>remark for the quiet and rural lives of the first patriarchs.

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<v Speaker 1>Hath a happy something in them which vanish away. When

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<v Speaker 1>we come to the history of Jewish royalty. Government by

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<v Speaker 1>kings was first introduced into the world by the Heathens,

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<v Speaker 1>from whom the children of Israel copied the custom. It

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<v Speaker 1>was the most prosperous invention the devil ever set on

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<v Speaker 1>foot for the promotion of idolatry. The Heathens paid divine

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<v Speaker 1>honors to their deceased kings, and the Christian world hath

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<v Speaker 1>improved on the plan by doing the same to their

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<v Speaker 1>living ones. How impious is the title of sacred majesty

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<v Speaker 1>applied to a worm, who, in the midst of his splendor,

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<v Speaker 1>is crumbling into dust. As the exalting one man so

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<v Speaker 1>greatly above the rest cannot be justified on the equal

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<v Speaker 1>rights of nature, so neither can it be defended on

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<v Speaker 1>the authority of scripture for the will of the Almighty,

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<v Speaker 1>as declared by Gideon, and the prophet Samuel expressly disapproves

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<v Speaker 1>of government by kings. Anti monarchical parts of scripture have

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<v Speaker 1>been very smoothly glossed over in monarchical governments, but they

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<v Speaker 1>undoubtedly merit the attention of countries which have their governments

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<v Speaker 1>yet to form. Render unto Caesar, the things which are

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<v Speaker 1>Caesar's is the scripture doctrine of courts. Yet it is

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<v Speaker 1>no support of monarchical government. For the Jews at that

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<v Speaker 1>time were without a king and in a state of

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<v Speaker 1>vassalage to the Romans. Now three thousand years passed away

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<v Speaker 1>from the mosaic account of the creation till the Jews,

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<v Speaker 1>under a national delusion, requested a king. Till then their

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<v Speaker 1>form of government, except in extraordinary cases where the Almighty interposed,

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<v Speaker 1>was a kind of republic administered by a judge and

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<v Speaker 1>the elders of the tribes. Kings, they had none, and

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<v Speaker 1>it was held sinful to acknowledge any being under that

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<v Speaker 1>title but the Lord of hosts. And when a man

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<v Speaker 1>seriously reflects on the idolatrous homage which is paid to

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<v Speaker 1>the persons of kings. He need not wonder that the Almighty,

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<v Speaker 1>ever jealous of his honor, should disapprove of a form

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<v Speaker 1>of government which so impiously invades the prerogative of heaven.

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<v Speaker 1>Monarchy is ranked in scripture as one of the sins

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<v Speaker 1>of the Jews, for which a curse in reserve is

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<v Speaker 1>denounced against them. The history of that transaction is worth attending.

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<v Speaker 1>To the children of Israel being oppressed by the Midianites,

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<v Speaker 1>Gideon marched against them with a small army, and victory

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<v Speaker 1>through the divine interposition, decided in his favor. The Jews

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<v Speaker 1>Elate with success, and attributing it to the generalship of Gideon,

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<v Speaker 1>proposed making him a king, saying, rule thou over us,

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<v Speaker 1>thou and thy son, and thy son Yun's son. Here

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<v Speaker 1>was temptation in its fullest extent, not a kingdom only,

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<v Speaker 1>but a hereditary one. But Gideon, in the piety of

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<v Speaker 1>his soul, replied, I will not rule over you, neither

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<v Speaker 1>shall my son rule over you. The Lord shall rule

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<v Speaker 1>over you. Words need not be more explicit. Gideon doth

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<v Speaker 1>not decline the honor, but denieth their right to give it.

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<v Speaker 1>Neither doth he compliment them with invented declarations of his thanks,

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<v Speaker 1>but in the positive style of a prophet, charges them

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<v Speaker 1>with disaffection to their proper sovereign, the King of Heaven.

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<v Speaker 1>About one hundred and thirty years after this, they fell

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<v Speaker 1>again into the same error. The hankering which the Jews

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<v Speaker 1>had for the idolatrous customs of the Heathens is somewhat

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<v Speaker 1>exceedingly unaccountable. But so it was that, laying hold of

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<v Speaker 1>the misconduct of Samuel's two sons, who were entrusted with

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<v Speaker 1>some secular concerns, they came in an abrupt and clamorous

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<v Speaker 1>manner to Samuel, saying, behold, thou art old, and thy

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<v Speaker 1>sons walk not in thy ways. Now make us a

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<v Speaker 1>king to judge us like all other nations. And here

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<v Speaker 1>we cannot but observe that their motives were bad, viz.

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<v Speaker 1>That they might be like unto other nations, i e.

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<v Speaker 1>The Heathens, whereas their true glory lay in being as

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<v Speaker 1>much unlike them as possible. But the thing displeased Samuel

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<v Speaker 1>when they said, give us a king to judge us.

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<v Speaker 1>And Samuel prayed unto the Lord, and the Lord said,

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<v Speaker 1>unto Samuel, hearken unto the voice of the people in

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<v Speaker 1>all that they say unto thee. For they have not

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<v Speaker 1>rejected thee but they have rejected me, that I should

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<v Speaker 1>not reign over them, according to all the works which

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<v Speaker 1>they have since the day that I brought them up

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<v Speaker 1>out of Egypt, even unto this day, wherewith they have

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<v Speaker 1>forsaken me and served other gods. So do they also

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<v Speaker 1>unto thee. Now therefore hearken unto their voice, howbeit protest

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<v Speaker 1>solemnly unto them, and show them the manner of the

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<v Speaker 1>king that shall reign over them, that is not of

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<v Speaker 1>any particular king, but the general manner of the kings

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<v Speaker 1>of the earth, whom Israel was so eagerly copying after.

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<v Speaker 1>And notwithstanding the great distance of time and difference of manners,

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<v Speaker 1>the character is still in fashion. And Samuel told all

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<v Speaker 1>the words of the Lord unto the people that asked

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<v Speaker 1>of him a king, And he said, this shall be

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<v Speaker 1>the manner of the king that shall reign over you.

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<v Speaker 1>He will take your sons and appoint them for himself

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<v Speaker 1>for his chariots, and to be his horsemen, and some

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<v Speaker 1>shall run before his chariots. This description agrees with the

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<v Speaker 1>present mode of impressing men. And he will appoint him

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<v Speaker 1>captains over thousands, and captains over fifties, and will set

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<v Speaker 1>them to ear his ground and reap his harvest, and

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<v Speaker 1>to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots.

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<v Speaker 1>And he will take your daughters to be confectioneries, and

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<v Speaker 1>to be cooks, and to be bakers. This describes the

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<v Speaker 1>expense and luxury as well as the oppression of kings.

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<v Speaker 1>And he will take your fields and your olive yards,

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<v Speaker 1>even the best of them, and give them to his servants.

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<v Speaker 1>And he will take the tenth of your seed and

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<v Speaker 1>of your vineyards, and give them to his officers and

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<v Speaker 1>to his servants, by which we see that bribery, corruption,

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<v Speaker 1>and favoritism are the standing vices of kings. And he

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<v Speaker 1>will take the tenth of your men's servants, and your

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<v Speaker 1>maid servants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses,

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<v Speaker 1>and put them to his work. And he will take

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<v Speaker 1>the tenth of your sheep, and ye shall be his servants.

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<v Speaker 1>And ye shall cry out in that day because of

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<v Speaker 1>your king, which ye shall have chosen, and the Lord

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<v Speaker 1>will not hear you in that day. This accounts for

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<v Speaker 1>the continuation of monarchy. Neither do the characters of the

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<v Speaker 1>few good kings which have lived since either sanctify the

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<v Speaker 1>title or blot out the sinfulness of the origin. The

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<v Speaker 1>high a coomium given of David takes no notice of

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<v Speaker 1>him officially as a king, but only as a man

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<v Speaker 1>after God's own heart. Nevertheless, the people refuse to obey

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<v Speaker 1>the voice of Samuel, and they said, nay, but we

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<v Speaker 1>will have a king over us, that we may be

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<v Speaker 1>like all the nations, and that our king may judge

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<v Speaker 1>us and go out before us and fight our battles.

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<v Speaker 1>Samuel continued to reas with them, but to no purpose.

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<v Speaker 1>He set before them their ingratitude, but all would not avail,

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<v Speaker 1>And seeing them fully bent on their folly, he cried out,

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<v Speaker 1>I will call upon the Lord, and he shall send

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<v Speaker 1>thunder and reign, which then was a punishment, being at

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<v Speaker 1>the time of wheat harvest, that ye may perceive and

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<v Speaker 1>see that your wickedness is great, which ye have done

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<v Speaker 1>in the sight of the Lord. And the Lord sent

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<v Speaker 1>thunder and reign that day, and all the people greatly

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<v Speaker 1>feared the Lord and Samuel, and all the people said,

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<v Speaker 1>unto Samuel, pray for thy servants unto the Lord thy God,

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<v Speaker 1>that we die not, for we have added, unto our

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<v Speaker 1>sins this evil to ask a king. These portions of

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<v Speaker 1>scripture are direct and positive. They admit of no equivocal construction.

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<v Speaker 1>That the Almighty hath here entered his protest against monarchical

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<v Speaker 1>government is true? Are these is false? And a man

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<v Speaker 1>has good reason to believe that there is as much

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<v Speaker 1>of kingcraft as priestcraft in withholding the scripture from the

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<v Speaker 1>public in popish countries. For monarchy, in every instance is

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<v Speaker 1>the popery of government. To the evil of monarchy, we

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<v Speaker 1>have added that of hereditary succession. And as the first

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<v Speaker 1>is a degradation and lessening of ourselves, so the second,

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<v Speaker 1>claimed as a matter of right, is an insult and

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<v Speaker 1>an imposition on posterity. For all men being originally equals,

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<v Speaker 1>no one by birth could have a right to set

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<v Speaker 1>up his own family in perpetual preference to all others forever.

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<v Speaker 1>And though himself might deserve some decent degree of honors

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<v Speaker 1>of his contemporaries, yet his descendants might be far too

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<v Speaker 1>unworthy to inherit them. One of the strongest natural proofs

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<v Speaker 1>of the folly of hereditary writing kings is that nature

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<v Speaker 1>disapproves it, are the wise, she would not so frequently

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<v Speaker 1>turn it into ridicule by giving mankind and asks for

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<v Speaker 1>a lion. Secondly, as no man at first could possess

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<v Speaker 1>any other public honors than were bestowed upon him, so

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<v Speaker 1>the giver of those honors could have no power to

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<v Speaker 1>give away the right of posterity. And though we might

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<v Speaker 1>say we choose you for our head, they could not,

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<v Speaker 1>without manifest injustice to their children, say that your children

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<v Speaker 1>and your children's children shall reign over ours forever, because

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<v Speaker 1>such an unwise, unjust, unnatural compact might perhaps, in the

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<v Speaker 1>next succession, put them under the government of a rogue

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<v Speaker 1>or a fool. Most wise men, in their private sentiments

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<v Speaker 1>have ever treated hereditary right with contempt. Yet it is

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<v Speaker 1>one of those evils which, when once established, is not

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<v Speaker 1>easily removed. Many submit from fear, others from superstition, and

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<v Speaker 1>the more powerful part shares with the king the plunder

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<v Speaker 1>of the rest. This is supposing the present race of

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<v Speaker 1>kings in the world to have had an honorable origin,

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<v Speaker 1>whereas it is more than probable that could we take

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<v Speaker 1>off the dark covering of antiquities and trace them to

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<v Speaker 1>their first rise that we could find the first of

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<v Speaker 1>them nothing better than the principal ruffian of some restless gang,

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<v Speaker 1>whose savage manners or pre eminence in subtlety obtained the

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<v Speaker 1>title of chief among the plunderers, and who, by increasing

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<v Speaker 1>in power and extending his depredations, overawe the quiet and defenseless,

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<v Speaker 1>to purchase their safety by frequent contributions. Yet his electors

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<v Speaker 1>could have no idea of giving hereditary rights to his descendants,

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<v Speaker 1>because such a perpetual exclusion of themselves was incompatible with

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<v Speaker 1>the free and unrestrained principles they professed to live by. Wherefore,

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<v Speaker 1>hereditary succession in the early ages of monarchy could not

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<v Speaker 1>take place as a matter of claim, but as something

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<v Speaker 1>casual or complemental. But as few or no records were

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<v Speaker 1>extant in those days, and traditional history stuffed with fables,

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<v Speaker 1>it was very easy, after the lapse of a few generations,

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<v Speaker 1>to trump up some superstitious tale, conveniently timed Mahomet like

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<v Speaker 1>to cram hereditary right down the throats of the vulgar.

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<v Speaker 1>Perhaps the disorders which threatened or seemed to threaten on

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<v Speaker 1>the decease of a leader and the choice of a

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<v Speaker 1>new one for elections among Ruffians could not be very

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<v Speaker 1>orderly induced many at first to favor hereditary pretensions, by

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<v Speaker 1>which means it happened as it hath happened, since that

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<v Speaker 1>what at first was submitted to as a convenience was

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<v Speaker 1>afterwards claimed as a right. England since the conquest hath

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<v Speaker 1>known some few good monarchs, but grown beneath a much

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<v Speaker 1>larger number of bad ones. Yet no man in his

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<v Speaker 1>senses can say that their claim under William the conqueror

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<v Speaker 1>is a very honorable one. A French bastard landing with

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<v Speaker 1>an armed Benditti and establishing himself king of England against

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<v Speaker 1>the consent of the natives is in plain terms, a

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<v Speaker 1>very paltry, rascally original. It certainly has no divinity in it. However,

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<v Speaker 1>it is needless to spend much time in exposing the

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<v Speaker 1>folly of hereditary right. If there are any so weak

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<v Speaker 1>as to believe it, Let them promiscuously worship the ass

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<v Speaker 1>and Lion, and welcome. I shall neither copy their humility

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<v Speaker 1>nor disturb their devot. Yet I should be glad to

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<v Speaker 1>ask how they suppose kings came at first? The question admits,

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<v Speaker 1>But of three answers viz. Either by lot, by election,

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<v Speaker 1>or by usurpation. If the first king was taken by lot,

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<v Speaker 1>it establishes a precedent for the next, which excludes hereditary succession.

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<v Speaker 1>Saul was by lot, yet the succession was not hereditary.

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<v Speaker 1>Neither does it appear from that transaction there was any

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<v Speaker 1>intention it ever should be if the first king of

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<v Speaker 1>any country was by election, that likewise establishes a precedent

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<v Speaker 1>for the next. For to say that the right of

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<v Speaker 1>all future generations is taken away by the act of

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<v Speaker 1>the first electors in their choice not only of a king,

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<v Speaker 1>but of a family of kings forever, hath no parallel

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<v Speaker 1>in or out of scripture. But the doctrine of original sin,

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<v Speaker 1>which supposes the free will of all men lost in Adam,

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<v Speaker 1>and from such comparison, and it will admit of no

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<v Speaker 1>other hereditary succession can derive no glory, For as in

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<v Speaker 1>Adam all sinned, and as in the first Electors all

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<v Speaker 1>men obeyed, as in the one all mankind was subjected

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<v Speaker 1>to satan, and in the other to sovereignty. As our

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<v Speaker 1>innocence was lost in the first and our authority in

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<v Speaker 1>the last, and as both disable us from reassuming some

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<v Speaker 1>former state and privilege. It unanswerably follows that original sin

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<v Speaker 1>and hereditary succession are parallels dishonorable rank in glorious connection.

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<v Speaker 1>Yet the most subtle sophist cannot produce a just or

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<v Speaker 1>simile as to usurpation. No man will be so hardy

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<v Speaker 1>as to defend it, And that William the Conqueror was

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<v Speaker 1>an usurper is a fact not to be contradicted. The

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<v Speaker 1>plain truth is that the antiquity of English monarchy will

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<v Speaker 1>not bear looking into. But it is not so much

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<v Speaker 1>the absurdity as the evil of hereditary succession which concerns mankind.

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<v Speaker 1>Did it ensure a race of good and wise men,

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<v Speaker 1>it would have the seal of divine authority. But as

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<v Speaker 1>it opens a door to the foolish, the wicked, and

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<v Speaker 1>the improper, it hath in it the nature of oppression.

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<v Speaker 1>Men who look upon themselves born to reign and others

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<v Speaker 1>to obey, soon grow insolent. Selected from the rest of mankind,

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<v Speaker 1>their minds are early poisoned by importance, and the world

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<v Speaker 1>they act in differs so materially from the world at

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<v Speaker 1>large that they have but little opportunity of knowing its

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<v Speaker 1>true interests, and when they succeed to the government, are

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<v Speaker 1>frequently the most ignorant and unfit of any throughout the dominions.

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<v Speaker 1>Another evil which attends hereditary succession is that the throne

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<v Speaker 1>is subject to be possessed by a minor at any age,

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<v Speaker 1>all which time the regency, acting under the cover of

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<v Speaker 1>a king, have every opportunity and inducement to betray their trust.

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<v Speaker 1>The same national misfortune happens when a king, worn out

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<v Speaker 1>with age and infirmity, enters the last stage of human weakness.

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<v Speaker 1>In both these cases, the public becomes a prey to

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<v Speaker 1>every miscreant who can tamper successfully with the follies, either

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<v Speaker 1>of age or infancy. The most plausible plea which hath

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<v Speaker 1>ever been offered in favor of hereditary succession is that

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<v Speaker 1>it preserves a nation from civil wars, and were this true,

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<v Speaker 1>it would be weighty, whereas it is the most bare

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<v Speaker 1>face falsity ever imposed upon mankind. The whole history of

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<v Speaker 1>England disowns the fact thirty kings and two miners have

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<v Speaker 1>reigned in that distracted kingdom since the Conquest, in which

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<v Speaker 1>time there have been, including the Revolution, no less than

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<v Speaker 1>eight civil wars and nineteen rebellions, wherefore, instead of making

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<v Speaker 1>for peace, it makes against it and destroys the very

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<v Speaker 1>foundation it seems to stand on. The contest for monarchy

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<v Speaker 1>and succession between the Houses of York and Lancaster laid

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<v Speaker 1>England in a scene of blood. For many years, twelve

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<v Speaker 1>pitched battles, besides skirmishes and sieges, were fought between Henry

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<v Speaker 1>and Edward. Twice was Henry prisoner to Edward, who in

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<v Speaker 1>his turn was prisoner to Henry. And so uncertain is

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<v Speaker 1>the fate of war and the temper of a nation,

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<v Speaker 1>when nothing but personal miss matters are the ground of

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<v Speaker 1>a quarrel. That Henry was taken in triumph from a

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<v Speaker 1>prison to a palace, and Edward obliged to fly from

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<v Speaker 1>a palace to a foreign land. Yet, as sudden transitions

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<v Speaker 1>of temper are seldom lasting, Henry, in his turn was

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<v Speaker 1>driven from the throne, and Edward recalled to succeed him,

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<v Speaker 1>the Parliament always following the strongest side. The contest began

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<v Speaker 1>in the reign of Henry the sixth and was not

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<v Speaker 1>entirely extinguished till Henry the seventh, in whom the families

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<v Speaker 1>were united, including a period of sixty seven years viz.

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<v Speaker 1>From fourteen twenty two to fourteen eighty nine. In short,

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<v Speaker 1>monarchy and succession have laid not this or that kingdom only,

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<v Speaker 1>but the world in blood and ashes. Tis a form

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<v Speaker 1>of government which the word of God bears testimony against,

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<v Speaker 1>and blood will attended. If we inquire into the business

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<v Speaker 1>of a king, we shall find that in some countries

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<v Speaker 1>they have none, and, after sauntering away their lives, without

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<v Speaker 1>pleasure to themselves or advantage to the nation, withdraw from

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<v Speaker 1>the scene and leave their successors to tread the same

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<v Speaker 1>idle ground. In absolute monarchies, the whole weight of business,

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<v Speaker 1>civil and military lies on the king. The children of Israel,

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<v Speaker 1>in their requests for a king, urged this plea quote,

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<v Speaker 1>that he may judge us, and go out before us

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<v Speaker 1>and fight our battles close quote. But in countries where

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<v Speaker 1>he is neither a judge nor a general, as in England,

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<v Speaker 1>a man would be puzzled to know what is his business.

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<v Speaker 1>The nearer any government approaches to a republic, the less

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<v Speaker 1>business there is for a king. It is somewhat difficult

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<v Speaker 1>to find a proper name for the government of England.

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<v Speaker 1>Sir William calls it a republic, but in its present

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<v Speaker 1>state it is unworthy of the name because the corrupt

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<v Speaker 1>influence of the Crown, by having all the places in

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<v Speaker 1>its disposal, hath so effectually swallowed up the power and

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<v Speaker 1>eaten out the virtue of the House of Commons, the

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<v Speaker 1>republican part of the constitution that the government of England

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<v Speaker 1>is nearly as monarchical as that of France or Spain.

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<v Speaker 1>Men fall out with names without understanding them, for it

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<v Speaker 1>is the republican and not the monarchical part of the

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<v Speaker 1>Constitution of England, which Englishmen glory in viz. The liberty

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<v Speaker 1>of choosing a House of Commons from out of their

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<v Speaker 1>own body. And it is easy to see that when

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<v Speaker 1>republican virtue fails, slavery ensues. Why is the Constitution of

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<v Speaker 1>England sickly but because monarchy hath poisoned the republic. The

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<v Speaker 1>Crown has engrossed the commons in England, the King hath

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<v Speaker 1>little more to do than to make war and give

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<v Speaker 1>away places, which in plain terms is to impoverish the

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<v Speaker 1>nation and set it together by the ears. A pretty

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<v Speaker 1>business indeed, for a man to be allowed eight hundred

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<v Speaker 1>thousand sterlings a year for and worshiped into the bargain

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<v Speaker 1>of more Worth is one honest man to society, and

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<v Speaker 1>in the sight of God, than all the crowned Ruffians

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<v Speaker 1>that ever lived. End of Part three.