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174 DOCUMENTS CONCERNING SWEDENBORG,
justice and the real good of the country, I could fill a large volume with lament-
ations. The governments, however, of these two states are considered the best
which, at present, exist in Europe, except our Swedish government, under
which every citizen enjoys the most perfect security both as to his life, his per-
son, and his property ; no man is a slave here ; and all equally enjoy, as to civil
matters, the most perfect liberty.
*’ IV. If there existed in the world a government in a celestial form, composed
of men endowed with an intelligence really angelic, even this government would
not be exempt from defects, but it would require constant watching ; and if any
one were to exaggerate its defects, its foundation might be sapped by calumny,
and the disaffection, which would gradually increase, might soon cause it to be
changed or annihilated; and this desire might arise even amongst the best dis-
posed persons.
*’
V. I would observe, that the wisest and best conducted government is that
which we, at present, enjoy in our country. Everything here is wisely arranged ;
everything here is prudently combined, as it were, in a regular chain, for the ad-
ministration of justice. From the man who occupies the most eminent position,
down to the person who performs the lowest function, everything is arranged in
regular order, which everybody can readily observe, if he will but consider
the subject.
" We here see that every provincial magistrate is subordinate to a judge, and
both to the Parliament, which is submitted to the royal revision, and this finally
to the General Estates of the Realm. In like manner, the sub-bailifF and the
bailiff himself are under obedience to the governor of the province ; this gover-
nor is responsible to the Parliament and to the Councils of the State, and these
again to the Senate, The Senate, conjointly with the Parliament and all the
Councils, are responsible to the four Estates of the Realm, which at every Diet
appoint and establish committees to examine their conduct. Besides, every
man in oflice must render an account to the fitscal board ; and lastly, the General
Estates themselves must render an account to God as their only Sovereign.
’^This shows us. Gentlemen, that in our country everything is so wisely
ordered and arranged, according to the laws of subordination, that no person can
neglect the duties of his ofiice with impunity ; and also that in every law-suit
every one is sure to succeed in gaining his cause, provided justice be on his
side. Nevertheless, faults cannot altogether be prevented, and abuses will
spring up, often under very specious pretexts, and by false and perverse inter-
pretations of the laws and of justice, since human weakness always prevails
among the generaUty of men, which inclines them in the interpretation and ad-
ministration of the laws to regard personal friendship, family interests, prefer-
ment, emoluments, &c. This, indeed, is a very great evil, and, alas! at the
present day, common to all the governments of the world, without a probability
of its being speedily and radically extirpated from any of them. But under our
form of government, every one can peacefully enjoy the inestimable advantage
of being in perfect security in everything concerning his life, his property, his
honor, and his office, and the functions of his station. Every station enjoys its
peculiar immunities and privileges, and particularly the cultivater of the land,
whose fields, rendered fruitful by his labor, liberally recompense him for all the
labor he expends in their cultivation. Thus no man is a slave amongst us 5
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