The science of constructing a commonwealth … is not to be taught a priori.… The nature of man is intricate; the objects of society are of the greatest possible complexity: and therefore no simple disposition or direction of power can be suitable either to man’s nature, or to the quality of his affairs.… The rights of men in governments are … often in balances between differences of good; in compromises sometimes between good and evil, and sometimes between evil and evil.…
