(¶5.456)
The members of this body are called magistrates or kings, that is
to say, rulers. This body, as a whole, considered in relation to
its members, is called the prince, and considered in its actions
it is called the government.
(¶5.457)
If we consider the action of the whole body upon itself, that is
to say, the relation of the whole to the whole, of the sovereign
to the state, we can compare this relation to that of the extremes
in a proportion of which the government is the middle term. The
magistrate receives from the sovereign the commands which he gives
to the nation, and when it is reckoned up his product or his power
is in the same degree as the product or power of the citizens
who are subjects on one side of the proportion and sovereigns on
the other. None of the three terms can be varied without at once
destroying this proportion. If the sovereign tries to govern, and
if the prince wants to make the laws, or if the subject refuses to
obey them, disorder takes the place of order, and the state falls
to pieces under despotism or anarchy.