Andrew Fletcher 
Discourse of Government With Relation to Militias 

Whilst the greatest effort has been made to ensure the quality of this text, due to the historical nature of this content, in some rare cases there may be minor issues with legibility. For though mankind take great care and pains to instruct themselves in other arts and sciences, yet very few apply themselves to consider the nature of government, an enquiry so useful and necessary both to magistrate and people. Nay, in most countries the arts of state being altogether directed either to enslave the people, or to keep them under slavery; it is become almost every where a crime to reason about matters of government. But if men would bestow a small part of the time and application which they throw away upon curious but useless studies, or endless gaming, in perusing those excellent rules and examples of government which the antients have left us, they would soon be enabled to discover all such abuses and corruptions as tend to the ruin of publick societies. ’Tis therefore very strange that they mould think study and knowledge necessary in every thing they go about, except in the noblest and most useful of all applications, the art of government.