Aristocracy, considered in its relations with the progress of civilization. From the Fr., with notes by the translator

CONSIDERED IN

ITS RELATIONS

WITH

THE PROGRESS OF CIVILIZATION.

FROM THE FRENCH OF H. PASSY,

MEMBER OF THE INSTITUTE,

LATE PEER OF FRANCE, EX-MINISTER OF FINANCE, OF COMMERCE AND
AGRICULTURE, ETC.

WITH NOTES AND APPENDIX BY THE TRANSLATOR.

Latifundia perdidere Italiam, et jam vero provincias.-PLINY.

Ye friends to truth, ye statesmen who survey
The rich man's joys increase, the poor's decay,
'Tis yours to judge how wide the limits stand
Between a splendid and a happy land.

The man of wealth and pride
Takes up the space that many poor supplied;
Space for his lake, his park's extended bounds,
Space for his horses, equipage, and hounds;
His seat, where solitary sports are seen,
Indignant spurns the cottage from the green.

GOLDSMITH.

LONDON:

ARTHUR HALL & CO. 25, PATERNOSTER ROW.

LONDON:

PRINTED BY R. CLAY, BREAD STREET HILL.

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER I.

PAGE.

On Aristocracy, its origin, and the modifications which it undergoes.

CHAPTER II.

On the distinctive character of the laws which constitute an