Deprivations of property or liberty may proceed by guile or force, or by an admixture of the two.  The trickery of a malicious sovereign must be matched, and exceeded, by the vigilance of his subjects; and no sentinel on the battlements of liberty can afford to relax his guard.  Assurances of benign intentions carry no weight.  What matters are the capabilities conferred by power, and the foreseeable consequences of the sovereign’s actions and policies.