[T]here cannot be a more certain symptom of the approaching....

“ [T]here cannot be a more certain symptom of the approaching ruin of a State than when a firm adherence to party is fixed upon as the only test of merit, and all the qualifications requisite to a right discharge of every employment, are reduced to that single standard. ”

Edward Wortley Montagu

From : Reflections on the Rise and Fall of the Ancient Republicks: Adapted to the Present State of Great Britain