date

1823. Feb¼y 22 Greece. J.B. to Greek
1823. Feb¼y 22

Greece. J.B. to Greek Legislators

Trials 1. Cupidity. 2. Revenge

Appetite for 1. money. 2. power 3 Revenge

1. Cupidity for Office

Cupidity [...?] out to your grasp needless offices, useless offices overpay of needful and useful ones and to ones called sinecures: revenge the ruin of all who by appeals to the people your constituents shall presume to call in question your faultless excellence © that faultless and matchless excellence, which men in your situation have no where failed to arrogate to themselves. If, under these temptations, if you sink, you will fall with others; if you stand firm, you will stand alone. To prove their fitness for command men have been seen in various countries subjecting themselves to the bodily torture none who could revenge themselves have as yet endured patiently that torture which by obloquy, always the severer the more merited, especially if merited is inflicted on the mind.

Legislators! the occupier of every office /place/ which is over and above those which are /is not/ absolutely needful as well as are useful, is a public robber: so is the receiver of whatever emolument /pay / is over and above that which is needful, in every needful and useful place. Every occupant of a sinecure Office is moreover a swindler: receiver of money extorted from the people on a pretence altogether false.

When I say to you, endure with patience whatever obloquy is cast upon you © treat with nothing but silent contempt any appellatives of vague reproach © defend yourselves against specific imputations defend yourselves with no other arms than counterargument and disproof, I call not upon you for any thing more than what for these á³á á³á years does been done by others in your place © I speak of the /all/ constituted authorities in the Anglo©American United States.
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    On the other hand, where there is suffering there will naturally be complaint:

    where a scene /system/ of depredation and oppression is in view, indignation

    will be awakened in every generous and sympathizing breast even of those who

    /which/ do not regard themselves as having sustained from it /been struck by it

    with/ any special injury. By both these causes complaint as opportunity offers

    is naturally produced /elicited/: indication is offered /made/ of the several

    particular evils /sufferings/ indication is made of this or that arrangement as

    affording a prospect of eventual remedy. Desire of relief from suffering desire

    of its termination /seeing an end to it/, desire of compensation, desire of

    security for the future © desire of revenge at the expence of the authors © all

    those deires concurr in giving expression to such complaints. But by every such

    expression fresh provocation is offered /given/ to the confederacy of

    depredators and oppressors. An emotion to which the word ”hatred• can not with

    truth be said to be inapplicable considering that by this word not any the

    faintest /slightest/ degree is excluded is excited in every injured breast to

    which the cause of its sufferings is an object of attention and regard: hatred

    in respect of the perpetually repeated course of injury perpetually repeated

    /inflicted/ and sustained: contempt incidentally in respect of the character of

    those who on this or that particular occasion are seen instrumental in /to/ the

    infliction of it, and the marks /tokens/ /symptoms/ of folly and absurdity by

    which this or that particular injurious act is so frequently seen to be

    accompanied.Á Á