TheAmericansverybroadlydisplayallthedifferentpropensitieswhichIhaveheredescribedwhentheygotothetheatres;butitmustbeacknowledgedthatasyetaverysmallnumberofthemgototheatresatall。AlthoughplaygoersandplayshaveprodigiouslyincreasedintheUnitedStatesinthelastfortyyears，thepopulationindulgesinthiskindofamusementwiththegreatestreserve。Thisisattributabletopeculiarcauses，whichthereaderisalreadyacquaintedwith，andofwhichafewwordswillsufficetoremindhim。ThePuritanswhofoundedtheAmericanrepublicswerenotonlyenemiestoamusements，buttheyprofessedanespecialabhorrenceforthestage。Theyconsidereditasanabominablepastime;andaslongastheirprinciplesprevailedwithundividedsway，scenicperformanceswerewhollyunknownamongstthem。Theseopinionsofthefirstfathersofthecolonyhaveleftverydeepmarksonthemindsoftheirdescendants。TheextremeregularityofhabitsandthegreatstrictnessofmannerswhichareobservableintheUnitedStates，haveasyetopposedadditionalobstaclestothegrowthofdramaticart。Therearenodramaticsubjectsinacountrywhichhaswitnessednogreatpoliticalcatastrophes，andinwhichloveinvariablyleadsbyastraightandeasyroadtomatrimony。Peoplewhospendeverydayintheweekinmakingmoney，andtheSundayingoingtochurch，havenothingtoinvitethemuseofComedy。
AsinglefactsufficestoshowthatthestageisnotverypopularintheUnitedStates。TheAmericans，whoselawsallowoftheutmostfreedomandevenlicenseoflanguageinallotherrespects，haveneverthelesssubjectedtheirdramaticauthorstoasortofcensorship。Theatricalperformancescanonlytakeplacebypermissionofthemunicipalauthorities。Thismayservetoshowhowmuchcommunitiesarelikeindividuals;theysurrenderthemselvesunscrupulouslytotheirrulingpassions，andafterwardstakethegreatestcarenottoyieldtoomuchtothevehemenceoftasteswhichtheydonotpossess。
Noportionofliteratureisconnectedbycloserormorenumeroustieswiththepresentconditionofsocietythanthedrama。Thedramaofoneperiodcanneverbesuitedtothefollowingage，ifintheintervalanimportantrevolutionhaschangedthemannersandthelawsofthenation。Thegreatauthorsofaprecedingagemayberead;butpieceswrittenforadifferentpublicwillnotbefollowed。Thedramaticauthorsofthepastliveonlyinbooks。Thetraditionaltasteofcertainindividuals，vanity，fashion，orthegeniusofanactormaysustainorresuscitateforatimethearistocraticdramaamongstademocracy;butitwillspeedilyfallawayofitself—notoverthrown，butabandoned。
ChapterXX:CharacteristicsOfHistoriansInDemocraticAgesHistorianswhowriteinaristocraticagesarewonttoreferalloccurrencestotheparticularwillortemperofcertainindividuals;andtheyareapttoattributethemostimportantrevolutionstoveryslightaccidents。Theytraceoutthesmallestcauseswithsagacity，andfrequentlyleavethegreatestunperceived。Historianswholiveindemocraticagesexhibitpreciselyoppositecharacteristics。Mostofthemattributehardlyanyinfluencetotheindividualoverthedestinyoftherace，nortocitizensoverthefateofapeople;but，ontheotherhand，theyassigngreatgeneralcausestoallpettyincidents。Thesecontrarytendenciesexplaineachother。
Whenthehistorianofaristocraticagessurveysthetheatreoftheworld，heatonceperceivesaverysmallnumberofprominentactors，whomanagethewholepiece。Thesegreatpersonages，whooccupythefrontofthestage，arresttheobservation，andfixitonthemselves;andwhilstthehistorianisbentonpenetratingthesecretmotiveswhichmakethemspeakandact，therestescapehismemory。Theimportanceofthethingswhichsomemenareseentodo，giveshimanexaggeratedestimateoftheinfluencewhichonemanmaypossess;andnaturallyleadshimtothink，thatinordertoexplaintheimpulsesofthemultitude，itisnecessarytoreferthemtotheparticularinfluenceofsomeoneindividual。
When，onthecontrary，allthecitizensareindependentofoneanother，andeachofthemisindividuallyweak，nooneisseentoexertagreat，orstilllessalastingpower，overthecommunity。Atfirstsight，individualsappeartobeabsolutelydevoidofanyinfluenceoverit;andsocietywouldseemtoadvancealonebythefreeandvoluntaryconcurrenceofallthemenwhocomposeit。Thisnaturallypromptsthemindtosearchforthatgeneralreasonwhichoperatesuponsomanymen’sfacultiesatthesametime，andturnsthemsimultaneouslyinthesamedirection。
Iamverywellconvincedthatevenamongstdemocraticnations，thegenius，thevices，orthevirtuesofcertainindividualsretardoracceleratethenaturalcurrentofapeople’shistory:butcausesofthissecondaryandfortuitousnatureareinfinitelymorevarious，moreconcealed，morecomplex，lesspowerful，andconsequentlylesseasytotraceinperiodsofequalitythaninagesofaristocracy，whenthetaskofthehistorianissimplytodetachfromthemassofgeneraleventstheparticularinfluencesofonemanorofafewmen。Intheformercasethehistorianissoonweariedbythetoil;hismindlosesitselfinthislabyrinth;and，inhisinabilityclearlytodiscernorconspicuouslytopointouttheinfluenceofindividuals，hedeniestheirexistence。Hepreferstalkingaboutthecharacteristicsofrace，thephysicalconformationofthecountry，orthegeniusofcivilization，whichabridgeshisownlabors，andsatisfieshisreaderfarbetteratlesscost。
M。deLafayettesayssomewhereinhis"Memoirs"thattheexaggeratedsystemofgeneralcausesaffordssurprisingconsolationstosecond—ratestatesmen。Iwilladd，thatitseffectsarenotlessconsolatorytosecond—ratehistorians;itcanalwaysfurnishafewmightyreasonstoextricatethemfromthemostdifficultpartoftheirwork，anditindulgestheindolenceorincapacityoftheirminds，whilstitconfersuponthemthehonorsofdeepthinking。
Formyself，Iamofopinionthatatalltimesonegreatportionoftheeventsofthisworldareattributabletogeneralfacts，andanothertospecialinfluences。Thesetwokindsofcausearealwaysinoperation:theirproportiononlyvaries。
Generalfactsservetoexplainmorethingsindemocraticthaninaristocraticages，andfewerthingsarethenassignabletospecialinfluences。Atperiodsofaristocracythereversetakesplace:specialinfluencesarestronger，generalcausesweaker—
unlessindeedweconsiderasageneralcausethefactitselfoftheinequalityofconditions，whichallowssomeindividualstobafflethenaturaltendenciesofalltherest。Thehistorianswhoseektodescribewhatoccursindemocraticsocietiesareright，therefore，inassigningmuchtogeneralcauses，andindevotingtheirchiefattentiontodiscoverthem;buttheyarewronginwhollydenyingthespecialinfluenceofindividuals，becausetheycannoteasilytraceorfollowit。
Thehistorianswholiveindemocraticagesarenotonlypronetoassignagreatcausetoeveryincident，buttheyarealsogiventoconnectincidentstogether，soastodeduceasystemfromthem。Inaristocraticages，astheattentionofhistoriansisconstantlydrawntoindividuals，theconnectionofeventsescapesthem;orrather，theydonotbelieveinanysuchconnection。Tothemtheclewofhistoryseemseveryinstantcrossedandbrokenbythestepofman。Indemocraticages，onthecontrary，asthehistorianseesmuchmoreofactionsthanofactors，hemayeasilyestablishsomekindofsequencyandmethodicalorderamongsttheformer。Ancientliterature，whichissorichinfinehistoricalcompositions，doesnotcontainasinglegreathistoricalsystem，whilstthepoorestofmodernliteraturesaboundwiththem。Itwouldappearthattheancienthistoriansdidnotmakesufficientuseofthosegeneraltheorieswhichourhistoricalwritersareeverreadytocarrytoexcess。
Thosewhowriteindemocraticageshaveanothermoredangeroustendency。Whenthetracesofindividualactionuponnationsarelost，itoftenhappensthattheworldgoesontomove，thoughthemovingagentisnolongerdiscoverable。Asitbecomesextremelydifficulttodiscernandtoanalyzethereasonswhich，actingseparatelyonthevolitionofeachmemberofthecommunity，concurintheendtoproducemovementintheoldmass，menareledtobelievethatthismovementisinvoluntary，andthatsocietiesunconsciouslyobeysomesuperiorforcerulingoverthem。Butevenwhenthegeneralfactwhichgovernstheprivatevolitionofallindividualsissupposedtobediscoveredupontheearth，theprincipleofhumanfree—willisnotsecure。Acausesufficientlyextensivetoaffectmillionsofmenatonce，andsufficientlystrongtobendthemalltogetherinthesamedirection，maywellseemirresistible:havingseenthatmankinddoyieldtoit，themindiscloseupontheinferencethatmankindcannotresistit。
Historianswholiveindemocraticages，then，notonlydenythatthefewhaveanypowerofactinguponthedestinyofapeople，buttheydeprivethepeoplethemselvesofthepowerofmodifyingtheirowncondition，andtheysubjectthemeithertoaninflexibleProvidence，ortosomeblindnecessity。Accordingtothem，eachnationisindissolublyboundbyitsposition，itsorigin，itsprecedents，anditscharacter，toacertainlotwhichnoeffortscaneverchange。Theyinvolvegenerationingeneration，andthus，goingbackfromagetoage，andfromnecessitytonecessity，uptotheoriginoftheworld，theyforgeacloseandenormouschain，whichgirdsandbindsthehumanrace。
Totheirmindsitisnotenoughtoshowwhateventshaveoccurred:theywouldfainshowthateventscouldnothaveoccurredotherwise。Theytakeanationarrivedatacertainstageofitshistory，andtheyaffirmthatitcouldnotbutfollowthetrackwhichbroughtitthither。Itiseasiertomakesuchanassertionthantoshowbywhatmeansthenationmighthaveadoptedabettercourse。
Inreadingthehistoriansofaristocraticages，andespeciallythoseofantiquity，itwouldseemthat，tobemasterofhislot，andtogovernhisfellow—creatures，manrequiresonlytobemasterofhimself。Inperusingthehistoricalvolumeswhichouragehasproduced，itwouldseemthatmanisutterlypowerlessoverhimselfandoverallaroundhim。Thehistoriansofantiquitytaughthowtocommand:thoseofourtimeteachonlyhowtoobey;intheirwritingstheauthoroftenappearsgreat，buthumanityisalwaysdiminutive。Ifthisdoctrineofnecessity，whichissoattractivetothosewhowritehistoryindemocraticages，passesfromauthorstotheirreaders，tillitinfectsthewholemassofthecommunityandgetspossessionofthepublicmind，itwillsoonparalyzetheactivityofmodernsociety，andreduceChristianstotheleveloftheTurks。I
wouldmoreoverobserve，thatsuchprinciplesarepeculiarlydangerousattheperiodatwhichwearearrive...完整阅读请扫描二维码下载丁香书院APP免费看：
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