The supposition is, that absolute power, in the hands of an eminent6 individual, would insure a virtuous7 and intelligent performance of all the duties of government. Good laws would be established and enforced, bad laws would be reformed; the best men would be placed in all situations of trust; justice would be as well administered, the public burdens would be as light and as judiciously8 imposed, every branch of administration would be as purely9 and as intelligently conducted as the circumstances of the country and its degree of intellectual and moral cultivation10 would admit. I am willing, for the sake of the argument, to concede all this, but I must point out how great the concession11 is, how much more is needed to produce even an approximation to these results than is conveyed in the simple expression, a good despot. Their realization12 would in fact imply, not merely a good monarch2, but an all-seeing one. He must be at all times informed correctly, in considerable detail, of the conduct and working of every branch of administration, in every district of the country, and must be able, in the twenty-four hours per day, which are all that is granted to a king as to the humblest laborer15, to give an effective share of attention and superintendence to all parts of this vast field; or he must at least be capable of discerning and choosing out, from among the mass of his subjects, not only a large abundance of honest and able men, fit to conduct every branch of public administration under supervision16 and control, but also the small number of men of eminent virtues17 and talents who can be trusted not only to do without that supervision, but to exercise it themselves over others. So extraordinary are the faculties18 and energies required for performing this task in any supportable manner, that the good despot whom we are supposing can hardly be imagined as consenting to undertake it unless as a refuge from intolerable evils, and a transitional preparation for something beyond. But the argument can do without even this immense item in the account. Suppose the difficulty vanquished19. What should we then have? One man of superhuman mental activity managing the entire affairs of a mentally passive people. Their passivity is implied in the very idea of absolute power. The nation as a whole, and every individual composing it, are without any potential voice in their own destiny. They exercise no will in respect to their collective interests. All is decided20 for them by a will not their own, which it is legally a crime for them to disobey. What sort of human beings can be formed under such a regimen? What development can either their thinking or their active faculties attain21 under it? On matters of pure theory they might perhaps be allowed to speculate, so long as their speculations either did not approach politics, or had not the remotest connection with its practice. On practical affairs they could at most be only suffered to suggest; and even under the most moderate of despots, none but persons of already admitted or reputed superiority could hope that their suggestions would be known to, much less regarded by, those who had the management of affairs. A person must have a very unusual taste for intellectual exercise in and for itself who will put himself to the trouble of thought when it is to have no outward effect, or qualify himself for functions which he has no chance of being allowed to exercise. The only sufficient incitement24 to mental exertion25, in any but a few minds in a generation, is the prospect26 of some practical use to be made of its results. It does not follow that the nation will be wholly destitute27 of intellectual power. The common business of life, which must necessarily be performed by each individual or family for themselves, will call forth28 some amount of intelligence and practical ability, within a certain narrow range of ideas. There may be a select class of savants who cultivate science with a view to its physical uses or for the pleasure of the pursuit. There will be a bureaucracy, and persons in training for the bureaucracy, who will be taught at least some empirical maxims29 of government and public administration. There may be, and often has been, a systematic30 organization of the best mental power in the country in some special direction (commonly military) to promote the grandeur31 of the despot. But the public at large remain without information and without interest on all greater matters of practice; or, if they have any knowledge of them, it is but a dilettante32 knowledge, like that which people have of the mechanical arts who have never handled a tool. Nor is it only in their intelligence that they suffer. Their moral capacities are equally stunted33. Wherever the sphere of action of human beings is artificially circumscribed34, their sentiments are narrowed and dwarfed35 in the same proportion. The food of feeling is action; even domestic affection lives upon voluntary good offices. Let a person have nothing to do for his country, and he will not care for it. It has been said of old that in a despotism there is at most but one patriot36, the despot himself; and the saying rests on a just appreciation37 of the effects of absolute subjection even to a good and wise master. Religion remains38; and here, at least, it may be thought, is an agency that may be relied on for lifting men's eyes and minds above the dust at their feet. But religion, even supposing it to escape perversion39 for the purposes of despotism, ceases in these circumstances to be a social concern, and narrows into a personal affair between an individual and his Maker40, in which the issue at stake is but his private salvation41. Religion in this shape is quite consistent with the most selfish and contracted egoism, and identifies the votary42 as little in feeling with the rest of his kind as sensuality itself.
A good despotism means a government in which, so far as depends on the despot, there is no positive oppression by officers of state, but in which all the collective interests of the people are managed for them, all the thinking that has relation to collective interests done for them, and in which their minds are formed by, and consenting to, this abdication43 of their own energies. Leaving things to the government, like leaving them to Providence44, is synonymous with caring nothing about them, and accepting their results, when disagreeable, as visitations of Nature. With the exception, therefore, of a few studious men who take an intellectual interest in speculation4 for its own sake, the intelligence and sentiments of the whole people are given up to the material interests, and when these are provided for, to the amusement and ornamentation of private life. But to say this is to say, if the whole testimony45 of history is worth any thing, that the era of national decline has arrived; that is, if the nation had ever attained46 any thing to decline from. If it has never risen above the condition of an Oriental people, in that condition it continues to stagnate47; but if, like Greece or Rome, it had realized any thing higher, through the energy, patriotism48, and enlargement of mind, which, as national qualities, are the fruits solely49 of freedom, it relapses in a few generations into the Oriental state. And that state does not mean stupid tranquillity50, with security against change for the worse; it often means being overrun, conquered, and reduced to domestic slavery either by a stronger despot, or by the nearest barbarous people who retain along with their savage53 rudeness the energies of freedom.
Such are not merely the natural tendencies, but the inherent necessities of despotic government; from which there is no outlet54, unless in so far as the despotism consents not to be despotism; in so far as the supposed good despot abstains55 from exercising his power, and, though holding it in reserve, allows the general business of government to go on as if the people really governed themselves. However little probable it may be, we may imagine a despot observing many of the rules and restraints of constitutional government. He might allow such freedom of the press and of discussion as would enable a public opinion to form and express itself on national affairs. He might suffer local interests to be managed, without the interference of authority, by the people themselves. He might even surround himself with a council or councils of government, freely chosen by the whole or some portion of the nation, retaining in his own hands the power of taxation56, and the supreme57 legislative58 as well as executive authority. Were he to act thus, and so far abdicate59 as a despot, he would do away with a considerable part of the evils characteristic of despotism. Political activity and capacity for public affairs would no longer be prevented from growing up in the body of the nation, and a public opinion would form itself, not the mere13 echo of the government. But such improvement would be the beginning of new difficulties. This public opinion, independent of the monarch's dictation, must be either with him or against him; if not the one, it will be the other. All governments must displease60 many persons, and these having now regular organs, and being able to express their sentiments, opinions adverse61 to the measures of government would often be expressed. What is the monarch to do when these unfavorable opinions happen to be in the majority? Is he to alter his course? Is he to defer62 to the nation? If so, he is no longer a despot, but a constitutional king; an organ or first minister of the people, distinguished63 only by being irremovable. If not, he must either put down opposition64 by his despotic power, or there will arise a permanent antagonism65 between the people and one man, which can have but one possible ending. Not even a religious principle of passive obedience66 and "right divine" would long ward23 off the natural consequences of such a position. The monarch would have to succumb67, and conform to the conditions of constitutional royalty68, or give place to some one who would. The despotism, being thus chiefly nominal69, would possess few of the advantages supposed to belong to absolute monarchy, while it would realize in a very imperfect degree those of a free government, since, however great an amount of liberty the citizens might practically enjoy, they could never forget that they held it on sufferance, and by a concession which, under the existing constitution of the state might at any moment be resumed; that they were legally slaves, though of a prudent70 or indulgent master.
It is not much to be wondered at if impatient or disappointed reformers, groaning72 under the impediments opposed to the most salutary public improvements by the ignorance, the indifference73, the untractableness, the perverse74 obstinacy75 of a people, and the corrupt76 combinations of selfish private interests, armed with the powerful weapons afforded by free institutions, should at times sigh for a strong hand to bear down all these obstacles, and compel a recalcitrant77 people to be better governed. But (setting aside the fact that for one despot who now and then reforms an abuse, there are ninety-nine who do nothing but create them) those who look in any such direction for the realization of their hopes leave out of the idea of good government its principal element, the improvement of the people themselves. One of the benefits of freedom is that under it the ruler can not pass by the people's minds, and amend78 their affairs for them without amending79 them. If it were possible for the people to be well governed in spite of themselves, their good government would last no longer than the freedom of a people usually lasts who have been liberated80 by foreign arms without their own co-operation. It is true, a despot may educate the people, and to do so really would be the best apology for his despotism. But any education which aims at making human beings other than machines, in the long run makes them claim to have the control of their own actions. The leaders of French philosophy in the eighteenth century had been educated by the Jesuits. Even Jesuit education, it seems, was sufficiently81 real to call forth the appetite for freedom. Whatever invigorates the faculties, in however small a measure, creates an increased desire for their more unimpeded exercise; and a popular education is a failure if it educates the people for any state but that which it will certainly induce them to desire, and most probably to demand.
I am far from condemning82, in cases of extreme exigency83, the assumption of absolute power in the form of a temporary dictatorship. Free nations have, in times of old, conferred such power by their own choice, as a necessary medicine for diseases of the body politic22 which could not be got rid of by less violent means. But its acceptance, even for a time strictly84 limited, can only be excused, if, like Solon or Pittacus, the dictator employs the whole power he assumes in removing the obstacles which debar the nation from the enjoyment85 of freedom. A good despotism is an altogether false ideal, which practically (except as a means to some temporary purpose) becomes the most senseless and dangerous of chimeras86. Evil for evil, a good despotism, in a country at all advanced in civilization, is more noxious87 than a bad one, for it is far more relaxing and enervating88 to the thoughts, feelings, and energies of the people. The despotism of Augustus prepared the Romans for Tiberius. If the whole tone of their character had not first been prostrated89 by nearly two generations of that mild slavery, they would probably have had spirit enough left to rebel against the more odious90 one.
There is no difficulty in showing that the ideally best form of government is that in which the sovereignty, or supreme controlling power in the last resort, is vested in the entire aggregate91 of the community, every citizen not only having a voice in the exercise of that ultimate sovereignty, but being, at least occasionally, called on to take an actual part in the government by the personal discharge of some public function, local or general.
To test this proposition, it has to be examined in reference to the two branches into which, as pointed71 out in the last chapter, the inquiry92 into the goodness of a government conveniently divides itself, namely, how far it promotes the good management of the affairs of society by means of the existing faculties, moral, intellectual, and active, of its various members, and what is its effect in improving or deteriorating93 those faculties.
The ideally best form of government, it is scarcely necessary to say, does not mean one which is practicable or eligible94 in all states of civilization, but the one which, in the circumstances in which it is practicable and eligible, is attended with the greatest amount of beneficial consequences, immediate95 and prospective96. A completely popular government is the only polity which can make out any claim to this character. It is pre-eminent in both the departments between which the excellence97 of a political Constitution is divided. It is both more favorable to present good government, and promotes a better and higher form of national character than any other polity whatsoever98.
Its superiority in reference to present well-being99 rests upon two principles, of as universal truth and applicability as any general propositions which can be laid down respecting human affairs. The first is, that the rights and interests of every or any person are only secure from being disregarded when the person interested is himself able, and habitually101 disposed to stand up for them. The second is, that the general prosperity attains102 a greater height, and is more widely diffused103, in proportion to the amount and variety of the personal energies enlisted104 in promoting it.
Putting these two propositions into a shape more special to their present application—human beings are only secure from evil at the hands of others in proportion as they have the power of being, and are, self-protecting; and they only achieve a high degree of success in their struggle with Nature in proportion as they are self-dependent, relying on what they themselves can do, either separately or in concert, rather than on what others do for them.
The former proposition—that each is the only safe guardian105 of his own rights and interests—is one of those elementary maxims of prudence106 which every person capable of conducting his own affairs implicitly107 acts upon wherever he himself is interested. Many, indeed, have a great dislike to it as a political doctrine108, and are fond of holding it up to obloquy109 as a doctrine of universal selfishness. To which we may answer, that whenever it ceases to be true that mankind, as a rule, prefer themselves to others, and those nearest to them to those more remote, from that moment Communism is not only practicable, but the only defensible form of society, and will, when that time arrives, be assuredly carried into effect. For my own part, not believing in universal selfishness, I have no difficulty in admitting that Communism would even now be practicable among the élite of mankind, and may become so among the rest. But as this opinion is any thing but popular with those defenders110 of existing institutions who find fault with the doctrine of the general predominance of self-interest, I am inclined to think they do in reality believe that most men consider themselves before other people. It is not, however, necessary to affirm even thus much in order to support the claim of all to participate in the sovereign power. We need not suppose that when power resides in an exclusive class, that class will knowingly and deliberately111 sacrifice the other classes to themselves: it suffices that, in the absence of its natural defenders, the interest of the excluded is always in danger of being overlooked; and, when looked at, is seen with very different eyes from those of the persons whom it directly concerns. In this country, for example, what are called the working-classes may be considered as excluded from all direct participation112 in the government. I do not believe that the classes who do participate in it have in general any intention of sacrificing the working classes to themselves. They once had that intention; witness the persevering113 attempts so long made to keep down wages by law. But in the present day, their ordinary disposition114 is the very opposite: they willingly make considerable sacrifices, especially of their pecuniary115 interest, for the benefit of the working classes, and err52 rather by too lavish116 and indiscriminating beneficence; nor do I believe that any rulers in history have been actuated by a more sincere desire to do their duty towards the poorer portion of their countrymen. Yet does Parliament, or almost any of the members composing it, ever for an instant look at any question with the eyes of a working man? When a subject arises in which the laborers117 as such have an interest, is it regarded from any point of view but that of the employers of labor14? I do not say that the working men's view of these questions is in general nearer to the truth than the other, but it is sometimes quite as near; and in any case it ought to be respectfully listened to, instead of being, as it is, not merely turned away from, but ignored. On the question of strikes, for instance, it is doubtful if there is so much as one among the leading members of either House who is not firmly convinced that the reason of the matter is unqualifiedly on the side of the masters, and that the men's view of it is simply absurd. Those who have studied the question know well how far this is from being the case, and in how different, and how infinitely119 less superficial a manner the point would have to be argued, if the classes who strike were able to make themselves heard in Parliament.
It is an adherent120 condition of human affairs that no intention, however sincere, of protecting the interests of others can make it safe or salutary to tie up their own hands. Still more obviously true is it that by their own hands only can any positive and durable121 improvement of their circumstances in life be worked out. Through the joint122 influence of these two principles, all free communities have both been more exempt123 from social injustice124 and crime, and have attained more brilliant prosperity than any others, or than they themselves after they lost their freedom. Contrast the free states of the world, while their freedom lasted, with the cotemporary subjects of monarchical125 or oligarchical126 despotism: the Greek cities with the Persian satrapies; the Italian republics and the free towns of Flanders and Germany, with the feudal127 monarchies128 of Europe; Switzerland, Holland, and England, with Austria or ante-revolutionary France. Their superior prosperity was too obvious ever to have been gainsayed; while their superiority in good government and social relations is proved by the prosperity, and is manifest besides in every page of history. If we compare, not one age with another, but the different governments which coexisted in the same age, no amount of disorder129 which exaggeration itself can pretend to have existed amidst the publicity130 of the free states can be compared for a moment with the contemptuous trampling131 upon the mass of the people which pervaded132 the whole life of the monarchical countries, or the disgusting individual tyranny which was of more than daily occurrence under the systems of plunder133 which they called fiscal134 arrangements, and in the secrecy135 of their frightful136 courts of justice.
It must be acknowledged that the benefits of freedom, so far as they have hitherto been enjoyed, were obtained by the extension of its privileges to a part only of the community; and that a government in which they are extended impartially137 to all is a desideratum still unrealized. But, though every approach to this has an independent value, and in many cases more than an approach could not, in the existing state of general improvement, be made, the participation of all in these benefits is the ideally perfect conception of free government. In proportion as any, no matter who, are excluded from it, the interests of the excluded are left without the guaranty accorded to the rest, and they themselves have less scope and encouragement than they might otherwise have to that exertion of their energies for the good of themselves and of the community, to which the general prosperity is always proportioned.
Thus stands the case as regards present well-being—the good management of the affairs of the existing generation. If we now pass to the influence of the form of government upon character, we shall find the superiority of popular government over every other to be, if possible, still more decided and indisputable.
This question really depends upon a still more fundamental one, viz., which of two common types of character, for the general good of humanity, it is most desirable should predominate—the active or the passive type; that which struggles against evils, or that which endures them; that which bends to circumstances, or that which endeavours to make circumstances bend to itself.
The commonplaces of moralists and the general sympathies of mankind are in favor of the passive type. Energetic characters may be admired, but the acquiescent139 and submissive are those which most men personally prefer. The passiveness of our neighbors increases our sense of security, and plays into the hands of our wilfulness140. Passive characters, if we do not happen to need their activity, seem an obstruction141 the less in our own path. A contented142 character is not a dangerous rival. Yet nothing is more certain than that improvement in human affairs is wholly the work of the uncontented characters; and, moreover, that it is much easier for an active mind to acquire the virtues of patience, than for a passive one to assume those of energy.
Of the three varieties of mental excellence, intellectual, practical, and moral, there never could be any doubt in regard to the first two, which side had the advantage. All intellectual superiority is the fruit of active effort. Enterprise, the desire to keep moving, to be trying and accomplishing new things for our own benefit or that of others, is the parent even of speculative143, and much more of practical, talent. The intellectual culture compatible with the other type is of that feeble and vague description which belongs to a mind that stops at amusement or at simple contemplation. The test of real and vigorous thinking, the thinking which ascertains144 truths instead of dreaming dreams, is successful application to practice. Where that purpose does not exist, to give definiteness, precision, and an intelligible145 meaning to thought, it generates nothing better than the mystical metaphysics of the Pythagoreans or the Veds. With respect to practical improvement, the case is still more evident. The character which improves human life is that which struggles with natural powers and tendencies, not that which gives way to them. The self-benefiting qualities are all on the side of the active and energetic character, and the habits and conduct which promote the advantage of each individual member of the community must be at least a part of those which conduce most in the end to the advancement146 of the community as a whole.
But on the point of moral preferability, there seems at first sight to be room for doubt. I am not referring to the religious feeling which has so generally existed in favor of the inactive character, as being more in harmony with the submission147 due to the divine will. Christianity, as well as other religions, has fostered this sentiment; but it is the prerogative148 of Christianity, as regards this and many other perversions149, that it is able to throw them off. Abstractedly from religious considerations, a passive character, which yields to obstacles instead of striving to overcome them, may not indeed be very useful to others, no more than to itself, but it might be expected to be at least inoffensive. Contentment is always counted among the moral virtues. But it is a complete error to suppose that contentment is necessarily or naturally attendant on passivity of character; and useless it is, the moral consequences are mischievous150. Where there exists a desire for advantages not possessed151, the mind which does not potentially possess them by means of its own energies is apt to look with hatred152 and malice153 on those who do. The person bestirring himself with hopeful prospects154 to improve his circumstances is the one who feels good-will towards others engaged in, or who have succeeded in the same pursuit. And where the majority are so engaged, those who do not attain the object have had the tone given to their feelings by the general habit of the country, and ascribe their failure to want of effort or opportunity, or to their personal ill luck. But those who, while desiring what others possess, put no energy into striving for it, are either incessantly155 grumbling156 that fortune does not do for them what they do not attempt to do for themselves, or overflowing157 with envy and ill-will towards those who possess what they would like to have.
In proportion as success in life is seen or believed to be the fruit of fatality158 or accident and not of exertion in that same ratio does envy develop itself as a point of national character. The most envious159 of all mankind are the Orientals. In Oriental moralists, in Oriental tales, the envious man is remarkably160 prominent. In real life, he is the terror of all who possess any thing desirable, be it a palace, a handsome child, or even good health and spirits: the supposed effect of his mere look constitutes the all-pervading superstition161 of the evil eye. Next to Orientals in envy, as in activity, are some of the Southern Europeans. The Spaniards pursued all their great men with it, embittered162 their lives, and generally succeeded in putting an early stop to their successes. [1] With the French, who are essentially163 a Southern people, the double education of despotism and Catholicism has, in spite of their impulsive164 temperament165, made submission and endurance the common character of the people, and their most received notion of wisdom and excellence; and if envy of one another, and of all superiority, is not more rife166 among them than it is, the circumstance must be ascribed to the many valuable counteracting167 elements in the French character, and most of all to the great individual energy which, though less persistent168 and more intermittent169 than in the self-helping and struggling Anglo-Saxons, has nevertheless manifested itself among the French in nearly every direction in which the operation of their institutions has been favorable to it.
There are, no doubt, in all countries, really contented characters, who not merely do not seek, but do not desire, what they do not already possess, and these naturally bear no ill-will towards such as have apparently170 a more favored lot. But the great mass of seeming contentment is real discontent, combined with indolence or self-indulgence, which, while taking no legitimate171 means of raising itself, delights in bringing others down to its own level. And if we look narrowly even at the cases of innocent contentment, we perceive that they only win our admiration172 when the indifference is solely to improvement in outward circumstances, and there is a striving for perpetual advancement in spiritual worth, or at least a disinterested173 zeal174 to benefit others. The contented man, or the contented family, who have no ambition to make any one else happier, to promote the good of their country or their neighborhood, or to improve themselves in moral excellence, excite in us neither admiration nor approval. We rightly ascribe this sort of contentment to mere unmanliness and want of spirit. The content which we approve is an ability to do cheerfully without what can not be had, a just appreciation of the comparative value of different objects of desire, and a willing renunciation of the less when incompatible175 with the greater. These, however, are excellences176 more natural to the character, in proportion as it is actively177 engaged in the attempt to improve its own or some other lot. He who is continually measuring his energy against difficulties, learns what are the difficulties insuperable to him, and what are those which, though he might overcome, the success is not worth the cost. He whose thoughts and activities are all needed for, and habitually employed in, practicable and useful enterprises, is the person of all others least likely to let his mind dwell with brooding discontent upon things either not worth attaining178, or which are not so to him. Thus the active, self-helping character is not only intrinsically the best, but is the likeliest to acquire all that is really excellent or desirable in the opposite type.
The striving, go-ahead character of England and the United States is only a fit subject of disapproving179 criticism on account of the very secondary objects on which it commonly expends180 its strength. In itself it is the foundation of the best hopes for the general improvement of mankind. It has been acutely remarked that whenever any thing goes amiss, the habitual100 impulse of French people is to say, "Il faut de la patience;" and of English people, "What a shame!" The people who think it a shame when any thing goes wrong—who rush to the conclusion that the evil could and ought to have been prevented, are those who, in the long run, do most to make the world better. If the desires are low placed, if they extend to little beyond physical comfort, and the show of riches, the immediate results of the energy will not be much more than the continual extension of man's power over material objects; but even this makes room, and prepares the mechanical appliances for the greatest intellectual and social achievements; and while the energy is there, some persons will apply it, and it will be applied181 more and more, to the perfecting, not of outward circumstances alone, but of man's inward nature. Inactivity, unaspiringness, absence of desire, are a more fatal hindrance182 to improvement than any misdirection of energy, and is that through which alone, when existing in the mass, any very formidable misdirection by an energetic few becomes possible. It is this, mainly, which retains in a savage or semi-savage state the great majority of the human race.
Now there can be no kind of doubt that the passive type of character is favored by the government of one or a few, and the active self-helping type by that of the many. Irresponsible rulers need the quiescence183 of the ruled more than they need any activity but that which they can compel. Submissiveness to the prescriptions184 of men as necessities of nature is the lesson inculcated by all governments upon those who are wholly without participation in them. The will of superiors, and the law as the will of superiors, must be passively yielded to. But no men are mere instruments or materials in the hands of their rulers who have will, or spirit, or a spring of internal activity in the rest of their proceedings185, and any manifestation186 of these qualities, instead of receiving encouragement from despots, has to get itself forgiven by them. Even when irresponsible rulers are not sufficiently conscious of danger from the mental activity of their subjects to be desirous of repressing it, the position itself is a repression187. Endeavour is even more effectually restrained by the certainty of its impotence than by any positive discouragement. Between subjection to the will of others and the virtues of self-help and self-government there is a natural incompatibility188. This is more or less complete according as the bondage189 is strained or relaxed. Rulers differ very much in the length to which they carry the control of the free agency of their subjects, or the supersession190 of it by managing their business for them. But the difference is in degree, not in principle; and the best despots often go the greatest lengths in chaining up the free agency of their subjects. A bad despot, when his own personal indulgences have been provided for, may sometimes be willing to let the people alone; but a good despot insists on doing them good by making them do their own business in a better way than they themselves know of. The regulations which restricted to fixed191 processes all the leading branches of French manufactures were the work of the great Colbert.
Very different is the state of the human faculties where a human being feels himself under no other external restraint than the necessities of nature, or mandates192 of society which he has his share in imposing193, and which it is open to him, if he thinks them wrong, publicly to dissent194 from, and exert himself actively to get altered. No doubt, under a government partially138 popular, this freedom may be exercised even by those who are not partakers in the full privileges of citizenship195; but it is a great additional stimulus196 to any one's self-help and self-reliance when he starts from even ground, and has not to feel that his success depends on the impression he can make upon the sentiments and dispositions197 of a body of whom he is not one. It is a great discouragement to an individual, and a still greater one to a class, to be left out of the constitution; to be reduced to plead from outside the door to the arbiters198 of their destiny, not taken into consultation199 within. The maximum of the invigorating effect of freedom upon the character is only obtained when the person acted on either is, or is looking forward to becoming, a citizen as fully118 privileged as any other. What is still more important than even this matter of feeling is the practical discipline which the character obtains from the occasional demand made upon the citizens to exercise, for a time and in their turn, some social function. It is not sufficiently considered how little there is in most men's ordinary life to give any largeness either to their conceptions or to their sentiments. Their work is a routine; not a labor of love, but of self-interest in the most elementary form, the satisfaction of daily wants; neither the thing done, nor the process of doing it, introduces the mind to thoughts or feelings extending beyond individuals; if instructive books are within their reach, there is no stimulus to read them; and, in most cases, the individual has no access to any person of cultivation much superior to his own. Giving him something to do for the public supplies, in a measure, all these deficiencies. If circumstances allow the amount of public duty assigned him to be considerable, it makes him an educated man. Notwithstanding the defects of the social system and moral ideas of antiquity200, the practice of the dicastery and the ecclesia raised the intellectual standard of an average Athenian citizen far beyond any thing of which there is yet an example in any other mass of men, ancient or modern. The proofs of this are apparent in every page of our great historian of Greece; but we need scarcely look further than to the high quality of the addresses which their great orators201 deemed best calculated to act with effect on their understanding and will. A benefit of the same kind, though far less in degree, is produced on Englishmen of the lower middle class by their liability to be placed on juries and to serve parish offices, which, though it does not occur to so many, nor is so continuous, nor introduces them to so great a variety of elevated considerations as to admit of comparison with the public education which every citizen of Athens obtained from her democratic institutions, makes them nevertheless very different beings, in range of ideas and development of faculties, from those who have done nothing in their lives but drive a quill51, or sell goods over a counter. Still more salutary is the moral part of the instruction afforded by the participation of the private citizen, if even rarely, in public functions. He is called upon, while so engaged, to weigh interests not his own; to be guided, in case of conflicting claims, by another rule than his private partialities; to apply, at every turn, principles and maxims which have for their reason of existence the general good; and he usually finds associated with him in the same work minds more familiarized than his own with these ideas and operations, whose study it will be to supply reasons to his understanding, and stimulation202 to his feeling for the general interest. He is made to feel himself one of the public, and whatever is their interest to be his interest. Where this school of public spirit does not exist, scarcely any sense is entertained that private persons, in no eminent social situation, owe any duties to society except to obey the laws and submit to the government. There is no unselfish sentiment of identification with the public. Every thought or feeling, either of interest or of duty, is absorbed in the individual and in the family. The man never thinks of any collective interest, of any objects to be pursued jointly203 with others, but only in competition with them, and in some measure at their expense. A neighbor, not being an ally or an associate, since he is never engaged in any common undertaking204 for joint benefit, is therefore only a rival. Thus even private morality suffers, while public is actually extinct. Were this the universal and only possible state of things, the utmost aspirations205 of the lawgiver or the moralist could only stretch to make the bulk of the community a flock of sheep innocently nibbling206 the grass side by side.
From these accumulated considerations, it is evident that the only government which can fully satisfy all the exigencies207 of the social state is one in which the whole people participate; that any participation, even in the smallest public function, is useful; that the participation should every where be as great as the general degree of improvement of the community will allow; and that nothing less can be ultimately desirable than the admission of all to a share in the sovereign power of the state. But since all can not, in a community exceeding a single small town, participate personally in any but some very minor208 portions of the public business, it follows that the ideal type of a perfect government must be representative.
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1
monarchy
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| n.君主，最高统治者；君主政体，君主国 | |
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monarch
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| n.帝王，君主，最高统治者 | |
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radical
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| n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的 | |
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speculation
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| n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机 | |
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speculations
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| n.投机买卖( speculation的名词复数 )；思考；投机活动；推断 | |
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eminent
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| adj.显赫的，杰出的，有名的，优良的 | |
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virtuous
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| adj.有品德的，善良的，贞洁的，有效力的 | |
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judiciously
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| adv.明断地，明智而审慎地 | |
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purely
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| adv.纯粹地，完全地 | |
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cultivation
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| n.耕作，培养，栽培（法），养成 | |
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concession
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| n.让步，妥协；特许(权) | |
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realization
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| n.实现；认识到，深刻了解 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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14
labor
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| n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦 | |
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laborer
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| n.劳动者，劳工 | |
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supervision
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| n.监督，管理 | |
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virtues
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| 美德( virtue的名词复数 )； 德行； 优点； 长处 | |
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18
faculties
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| n.能力( faculty的名词复数 )；全体教职员；技巧；院 | |
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19
vanquished
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| v.征服( vanquish的过去式和过去分词 )；战胜；克服；抑制 | |
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20
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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attain
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| vt.达到，获得，完成 | |
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politic
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| adj.有智虑的；精明的；v.从政 | |
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ward
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| n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开 | |
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incitement
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| 激励； 刺激； 煽动； 激励物 | |
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exertion
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| n.尽力，努力 | |
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prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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destitute
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| adj.缺乏的；穷困的 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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maxims
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| n.格言，座右铭( maxim的名词复数 ) | |
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systematic
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| adj.有系统的，有计划的，有方法的 | |
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grandeur
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| n.伟大，崇高，宏伟，庄严，豪华 | |
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dilettante
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| n.半瓶醋，业余爱好者 | |
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stunted
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| adj.矮小的；发育迟缓的 | |
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circumscribed
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| adj.[医]局限的：受限制或限于有限空间的v.在…周围划线( circumscribe的过去式和过去分词 )；划定…范围；限制；限定 | |
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35
dwarfed
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| vt.（使）显得矮小（dwarf的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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patriot
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| n.爱国者，爱国主义者 | |
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appreciation
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| n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨 | |
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remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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perversion
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| n.曲解；堕落；反常 | |
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maker
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| n.制造者，制造商 | |
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salvation
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| n.（尤指基督）救世，超度，拯救，解困 | |
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votary
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| n.崇拜者；爱好者；adj.誓约的，立誓任圣职的 | |
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abdication
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| n.辞职；退位 | |
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providence
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| n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝 | |
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45
testimony
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| n.证词；见证，证明 | |
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46
attained
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| （通常经过努力）实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况） | |
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47
stagnate
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| v.停止 | |
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48
patriotism
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| n.爱国精神，爱国心，爱国主义 | |
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49
solely
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| adv.仅仅，唯一地 | |
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50
tranquillity
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| n. 平静, 安静 | |
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51
quill
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| n.羽毛管；v.给（织物或衣服）作皱褶 | |
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52
err
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| vi.犯错误，出差错 | |
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53
savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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54
outlet
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| n.出口/路；销路；批发商店；通风口；发泄 | |
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55
abstains
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| 戒（尤指酒），戒除( abstain的第三人称单数 )； 弃权（不投票） | |
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56
taxation
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| n.征税，税收，税金 | |
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57
supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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58
legislative
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| n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的 | |
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59
abdicate
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| v.让位，辞职，放弃 | |
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60
displease
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| vt.使不高兴，惹怒；n.不悦，不满，生气 | |
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61
adverse
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| adj.不利的；有害的；敌对的，不友好的 | |
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62
defer
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| vt.推迟，拖延；vi.(to)遵从，听从，服从 | |
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63
distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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opposition
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| n.反对，敌对 | |
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65
antagonism
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| n.对抗，敌对，对立 | |
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66
obedience
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| n.服从，顺从 | |
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67
succumb
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| v.屈服，屈从；死 | |
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68
royalty
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| n.皇家，皇族 | |
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69
nominal
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| adj.名义上的；(金额、租金)微不足道的 | |
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70
prudent
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| adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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72
groaning
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| adj. 呜咽的, 呻吟的 动词groan的现在分词形式 | |
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73
indifference
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| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
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74
perverse
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| adj.刚愎的；坚持错误的，行为反常的 | |
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75
obstinacy
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| n.顽固；（病痛等）难治 | |
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76
corrupt
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| v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的 | |
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recalcitrant
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| adj.倔强的 | |
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78
amend
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| vt.修改，修订，改进；n.[pl.]赔罪，赔偿 | |
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79
amending
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| 改良，修改，修订( amend的现在分词 )； 改良，修改，修订( amend的第三人称单数 )( amends的现在分词 ) | |
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80
liberated
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| a.无拘束的，放纵的 | |
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81
sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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82
condemning
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| v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的现在分词 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地 | |
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83
exigency
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| n.紧急；迫切需要 | |
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84
strictly
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| adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地 | |
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85
enjoyment
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| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
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86
chimeras
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| n.（由几种动物的各部分构成的）假想的怪兽( chimera的名词复数 )；不可能实现的想法；幻想；妄想 | |
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87
noxious
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| adj.有害的，有毒的；使道德败坏的，讨厌的 | |
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88
enervating
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| v.使衰弱，使失去活力( enervate的现在分词 ) | |
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89
prostrated
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| v.使俯伏，使拜倒( prostrate的过去式和过去分词 )；（指疾病、天气等）使某人无能为力 | |
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90
odious
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| adj.可憎的，讨厌的 | |
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91
aggregate
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| adj.总计的，集合的；n.总数；v.合计；集合 | |
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92
inquiry
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| n.打听，询问，调查，查问 | |
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deteriorating
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| 恶化，变坏( deteriorate的现在分词 ) | |
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eligible
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| adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的 | |
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immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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96
prospective
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| adj.预期的，未来的，前瞻性的 | |
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excellence
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| n.优秀，杰出，(pl.)优点，美德 | |
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98
whatsoever
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| adv.（用于否定句中以加强语气）任何；pron.无论什么 | |
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99
well-being
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| n.安康，安乐，幸福 | |
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100
habitual
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| adj.习惯性的；通常的，惯常的 | |
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101
habitually
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| ad.习惯地，通常地 | |
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102
attains
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| （通常经过努力）实现( attain的第三人称单数 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况） | |
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103
diffused
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| 散布的，普及的，扩散的 | |
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104
enlisted
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| adj.应募入伍的v.（使）入伍， （使）参军( enlist的过去式和过去分词 )；获得（帮助或支持） | |
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105
guardian
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| n.监护人；守卫者，保护者 | |
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106
prudence
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| n.谨慎，精明，节俭 | |
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107
implicitly
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| adv. 含蓄地, 暗中地, 毫不保留地 | |
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108
doctrine
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| n.教义；主义；学说 | |
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obloquy
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| n.斥责，大骂 | |
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110
defenders
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| n.防御者( defender的名词复数 )；守卫者；保护者；辩护者 | |
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111
deliberately
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| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
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112
participation
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| n.参与，参加，分享 | |
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113
persevering
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| a.坚忍不拔的 | |
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114
disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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115
pecuniary
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| adj.金钱的；金钱上的 | |
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116
lavish
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| adj.无节制的；浪费的；vt.慷慨地给予，挥霍 | |
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117
laborers
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| n.体力劳动者，工人( laborer的名词复数 )；（熟练工人的）辅助工 | |
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118
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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119
infinitely
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| adv.无限地，无穷地 | |
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120
adherent
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| n.信徒，追随者，拥护者 | |
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121
durable
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| adj.持久的，耐久的 | |
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122
joint
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| adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合 | |
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123
exempt
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| adj.免除的；v.使免除；n.免税者，被免除义务者 | |
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124
injustice
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| n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利 | |
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125
monarchical
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| adj. 国王的，帝王的，君主的，拥护君主制的 =monarchic | |
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126
oligarchical
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| adj.寡头政治的，主张寡头政治的 | |
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127
feudal
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| adj.封建的，封地的，领地的 | |
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128
monarchies
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| n. 君主政体, 君主国, 君主政治 | |
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129
disorder
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| n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调 | |
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130
publicity
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| n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告 | |
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131
trampling
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| 踩( trample的现在分词 )； 践踏； 无视； 侵犯 | |
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132
pervaded
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| v.遍及，弥漫( pervade的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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133
plunder
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| vt.劫掠财物，掠夺；n.劫掠物，赃物；劫掠 | |
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134
fiscal
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| adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的 | |
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135
secrecy
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| n.秘密，保密，隐蔽 | |
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136
frightful
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| adj.可怕的；讨厌的 | |
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137
impartially
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| adv.公平地，无私地 | |
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138
partially
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| adv.部分地，从某些方面讲 | |
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139
acquiescent
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| adj.默许的，默认的 | |
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140
wilfulness
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| 任性；倔强 | |
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141
obstruction
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| n.阻塞，堵塞；障碍物 | |
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142
contented
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| adj.满意的，安心的，知足的 | |
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143
speculative
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| adj.思索性的，暝想性的，推理的 | |
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144
ascertains
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| v.弄清，确定，查明( ascertain的第三人称单数 ) | |
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145
intelligible
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| adj.可理解的，明白易懂的，清楚的 | |
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146
advancement
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| n.前进，促进，提升 | |
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147
submission
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| n.服从，投降；温顺，谦虚；提出 | |
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148
prerogative
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| n.特权 | |
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149
perversions
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| n.歪曲( perversion的名词复数 )；变坏；变态心理 | |
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150
mischievous
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| adj.调皮的，恶作剧的，有害的，伤人的 | |
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151
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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152
hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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153
malice
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| n.恶意，怨恨，蓄意；[律]预谋 | |
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154
prospects
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| n.希望，前途(恒为复数) | |
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155
incessantly
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| ad.不停地 | |
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156
grumbling
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| adj. 喃喃鸣不平的, 出怨言的 | |
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157
overflowing
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| n. 溢出物,溢流 adj. 充沛的，充满的 动词overflow的现在分词形式 | |
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158
fatality
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| n.不幸，灾祸，天命 | |
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159
envious
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| adj.嫉妒的，羡慕的 | |
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160
remarkably
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| ad.不同寻常地，相当地 | |
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161
superstition
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| n.迷信，迷信行为 | |
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162
embittered
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| v.使怨恨，激怒( embitter的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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essentially
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| adv.本质上，实质上，基本上 | |
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impulsive
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| adj.冲动的，刺激的；有推动力的 | |
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165
temperament
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| n.气质，性格，性情 | |
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166
rife
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| adj.(指坏事情)充斥的，流行的，普遍的 | |
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167
counteracting
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| 对抗，抵消( counteract的现在分词 ) | |
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168
persistent
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| adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的 | |
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169
intermittent
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| adj.间歇的，断断续续的 | |
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170
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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171
legitimate
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| adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法 | |
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172
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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173
disinterested
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| adj.不关心的，不感兴趣的 | |
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174
zeal
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| n.热心，热情，热忱 | |
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175
incompatible
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| adj.不相容的，不协调的，不相配的 | |
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176
excellences
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| n.卓越( excellence的名词复数 )；（只用于所修饰的名词后）杰出的；卓越的；出类拔萃的 | |
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177
actively
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| adv.积极地，勤奋地 | |
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178
attaining
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| （通常经过努力）实现( attain的现在分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况） | |
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179
disapproving
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| adj.不满的，反对的v.不赞成( disapprove的现在分词 ) | |
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180
expends
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| v.花费( expend的第三人称单数 )；使用（钱等）做某事；用光；耗尽 | |
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181
applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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182
hindrance
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| n.妨碍，障碍 | |
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183
quiescence
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| n.静止 | |
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184
prescriptions
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| 药( prescription的名词复数 )； 处方； 开处方； 计划 | |
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185
proceedings
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| n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报 | |
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186
manifestation
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| n.表现形式；表明；现象 | |
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187
repression
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| n.镇压，抑制，抑压 | |
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188
incompatibility
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| n.不兼容 | |
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189
bondage
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| n.奴役，束缚 | |
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190
supersession
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| 取代，废弃； 代谢 | |
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191
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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192
mandates
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| 托管（mandate的第三人称单数形式） | |
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193
imposing
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| adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的 | |
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194
dissent
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| n./v.不同意，持异议 | |
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195
citizenship
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| n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份) | |
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196
stimulus
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| n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物 | |
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197
dispositions
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| 安排( disposition的名词复数 )； 倾向； （财产、金钱的）处置； 气质 | |
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198
arbiters
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| 仲裁人，裁决者( arbiter的名词复数 ) | |
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199
consultation
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| n.咨询；商量；商议；会议 | |
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200
antiquity
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| n.古老；高龄；古物，古迹 | |
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201
orators
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| n.演说者，演讲家( orator的名词复数 ) | |
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202
stimulation
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| n.刺激，激励，鼓舞 | |
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203
jointly
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| ad.联合地，共同地 | |
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204
undertaking
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| n.保证，许诺，事业 | |
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205
aspirations
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| 强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 )； 志向； 发送气音； 发 h 音 | |
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206
nibbling
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| v.啃，一点一点地咬（吃）( nibble的现在分词 )；啃出（洞），一点一点咬出（洞）；慢慢减少；小口咬 | |
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207
exigencies
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| n.急切需要 | |
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208
minor
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| adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修 | |
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