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1mo What kind of ailments afflict the political body.
Ad 1mo Even if one undertakes only a cursory investigation of the domestic situation of the German hereditary lands, one sees all too clearly that they are far from the blossoming condition in which they could be, and that some are a bit feebler, others a bit less so, but all are weakened and so to say emaciated. The people are almost universally poor, oppressed, and troublesome. The rural towns are dreary, overburdened with debt, and diminished in terms of population. Rather than getting stronger, food production, manufacturing, and industry in general, as well as commerce, are falling into greater and greater decline. In ten years of peace, the debt burden of the state has not decreased, but rather increased, and instead of using this time to gather new strength to endure a future war, the hereditary lands assume a sadder appearance every day. In former times, the nobility of the hereditary lands numbered among the richest in Europe; now it is difficult for most of them to procure their own basic necessities. And their own indigence means that they are not in a position to offer the necessary help to their subjects. Members of the clergy, who previously lived in abundance and supported the state with their voluntary contributions, now find themselves in nearly the same hard-pressed circumstances. There is no group that does not feel a distinct diminishing of their inner strength. [ . . . ]
2do Which political illnesses demand the fastest and most urgent attention on account of their danger. [ . . . ]
3tio What sorts of causes give rise to both types of political illnesses.
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