No man is born a magistrate, or with a right to rule over his brethren. If this were the case, there must be some natural mark by which it might be known to whom this right belongs, or it could answer no end: But no man was ever known to come into the world with any such mark of superiority and domination. If a man by the improvement of his reason and moral powers becomes more wise and virtuous than his brethren, this renders him better qualified for authority than others: But still he is no magistrate or lawgiver, till he is appointed such by the people.
Simeon Howard — A Sermon Preached before the Honorable Council… of Massachusetts-Bay (Election Sermon, 1780)
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