long as it rests on a moral or spiritual basis, may be as necessary and therefore as legitimate as the principle of liberty. Let us not forget that even in our own history two of the most decisive epochs have been the military dictatorship of Cromwell and the civil dictatorship of Pitt. Let us not forget that the Romans—i.e. the nation who, of all ancient nations, have been the most successful in the practice of freedom and of self-government, did never hesitate to appeal to such dictatorship whenever the country was in danger. Salus populi suprema lex.
VII
Now in Russia for centuries the country has always been in danger. Hannibal has always been at the gates of Rome. Tatars and Poles have always threatened the gates of Moscow. And therefore fatally despotism had to be perpetual. Dura lex sed lex: it was a great evil, but a necessary one.
Let us suppose for one moment that the Russians had adopted another form of government, and had remained loyal to the republican principle which we see prevailing in the most ancient commonwealths of Pskof, Viatka, and My
