Another excerpt from a speech Alexander Hamilton made at the Constitutional Convention in 1787. Here he argues against allowing people to hold more than one public office at a time.
Take mankind in general, they are vicious — their passions may be operated upon. Take mankind as they are, and what are they governed by? Their passions. There may be in every government a few choice spirits, who may act from more worthy motives but one great error is that we suppose mankind more honest than they are. Our prevailing passions are ambition and interest. Wise government should avail itself of those passions, to make them subservient to the public good.
