The Romans on this occasion did what should be done
by every wise prince, whose duty it is not only to
provide a remedy for present evils, but at the same time
to anticipate such as are likely to happen. If foreseen
at a distance, they are easily remedied; but if we wait
till they have surrounded us, the opportunity is past and
the malady has become incurable. It happens then as
it happens to physicians in the cure of a consumption,
which in the beginning is easy to cure and difficult to
understand; but when it has neither been discovered
in due time, nor treated upon a proper principle, it
becomes easy to understand and difficult to cure.
The same thing happens in state affairs; by foreseeing
them at a distance, which is done only by men of
talents, the evils that might arise from them are soon
cured; but when from want of foresight they are
suffered to increase to such a height that they are
perceptible to every one, there is no longer any remedy.
