They re-organized society by naturally, though slowly, developing those
numerous intermediary institutions--guilds, corporations, trial by jury,
the judiciary, and representation of interests, orders, guilds and
corporations, _not of individual heads_, in Parliament--all which, as a
living, harmonious system, constitute, or _did_ constitute, the English
Constitution, and were essentially reproduced in the Constitution of the
United States, and which wonderfully distinguish constitutionalism from
absolutism.
'The will of the emperor has the force of law,' was the fundamental
maxim of the civil law. Emperor, imperator;--hence, imperialism,
Caesarism, absolutism. That maxim obtained with pagans--civilized it may
be, but none the less pagans--whose theory or gospel was that 'man is
his own end.' Man's infinite moral worth as man, was not known or not
recognized in the pagan civilization of the classic Greeks and Romans.
Hence the state, which outlived the individual, was of more importance
than the individual, and naturally absorbed the individual. Man being
his own end, and existence being next to impossible without society, the
state was the best means to obtain his end, and therefore Plato taught
that man lives for the state, must be trained up for the state, belongs
to the state, and is of no value outside of the state. Hence the pagan
civilization of Greece and Rome, being intensely human, while it became
very splendid and refined, became also, and could not help becoming
intensely and unutterably corrupt--so corrupt that St.
Pages:
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97