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.