262 HIST OR T OF ENGLAND.

Aprentiix possession, ho-wever obtained , was extremely aptI. to secure their obedience, and the idea of anyright, which was once excluded, was but feebleanti imperfect. This is so much the cafe in allbarbarous monarchies , and occurs so often inthe history of the Anglo-Saxons, that we cannotconsistently entertain any other notion of theirgovernment. 'The idea of an hereditary successionin authority is so natural to men, and is so muchfortiiied bv the usual rule in transmitting privatepolfeffions, that it must retain a great influenceon every society , which does not exclude it bythe refinements of a republican constitution. Butas there is a material difference between govern-ment and private possessions, and every man isnot as much qualified for exercising the one ,as lor enjoying the other, a people, who arenot sensible of the general advantages attendinga fixed rule, are apt to make great leaps inthe succession , and frequently to pass over theperson , who, had he possessed the requisite yearsand abilities , would have been thought entitledtq the sovereignty. Thus, these monarchies arenot, strictly speaking, either elective or hereditary;and though the destination of a prince may oftenbe followed in appointing his successor , theycan as little be regarded as wholly testamentary.The states by their suffrage may sometimesestablish a sovereign; but they more frequentlyrecognize the person, whom they find established?A few great men take the lead; the people,o-verawed and influenced , acquiesce in the