Inademocraticsociety，aswellaselsewhere，thereareonlyacertainnumberofgreatfortunestobemade;andasthepathswhichleadtothemareindiscriminatelyopentoall，theprogressofallmustnecessarilybeslackened。Asthecandidatesappeartobenearlyalike，andasitisdifficulttomakeaselectionwithoutinfringingtheprincipleofequality，whichisthesupremelawofdemocraticsocieties，thefirstideawhichsuggestsitselfistomakethemalladvanceatthesamerateandsubmittothesameprobation。Thusinproportionasmenbecomemorealike，andtheprincipleofequalityismorepeaceablyanddeeplyinfusedintotheinstitutionsandmannersofthecountry，therulesofadvancementbecomemoreinflexible，advancementitselfslower，thedifficultyofarrivingquicklyatacertainheightfargreater。Fromhatredofprivilegeandfromtheembarrassmentofchoosing，allmenareatlastconstrained，whatevermaybetheirstandard，topassthesameordeal;allareindiscriminatelysubjectedtoamultitudeofpettypreliminaryexercises，inwhichtheiryouthiswastedandtheirimaginationquenched，sothattheydespairofeverfullyattainingwhatisheldouttothem;andwhenatlengththeyareinaconditiontoperformanyextraordinaryacts，thetasteforsuchthingshasforsakenthem。
InChina，wheretheequalityofconditionsisexceedinglygreatandveryancient，nomanpassesfromonepublicofficetoanotherwithoutundergoingaprobationarytrial。Thisprobationoccursafreshateverystageofhiscareer;andthenotionisnowsorootedinthemannersofthepeoplethatIremembertohavereadaChinesenovel，inwhichthehero，afternumberlesscrosses，succeedsatlengthintouchingtheheartofhismistressbytakinghonors。Aloftyambitionbreatheswithdifficultyinsuchanatmosphere。
TheremarkIapplytopoliticsextendstoeverything;
equalityeverywhereproducesthesameeffects;wherethelawsofacountrydonotregulateandretardtheadvancementofmenbypositiveenactment，competitionattainsthesameend。Inawell—establisheddemocraticcommunitygreatandrapidelevationisthereforerare;itformsanexceptiontothecommonrule;anditisthesingularityofsuchoccurrencesthatmakesmenforgethowrarelytheyhappen。Menlivingindemocraciesultimatelydiscoverthesethings;theyfindoutatlastthatthelawsoftheircountryopenaboundlessfieldofactionbeforethem，butthatnoonecanhopetohastenacrossit。Betweenthemandthefinalobjectoftheirdesires，theyperceiveamultitudeofsmallintermediateimpediments，whichmustbeslowlysurmounted:thisprospectweariesanddiscouragestheirambitionatonce。Theythereforegiveuphopessodoubtfulandremote，tosearchnearertothemselvesforlessloftyandmoreeasyenjoyments。Theirhorizonisnotboundedbythelawsbutnarrowedbythemselves。
Ihaveremarkedthatloftyambitionsaremorerareintheagesofdemocracythanintimesofaristocracy:Imayaddthatwhen，inspiteofthesenaturalobstacles，theydospringintoexistence，theircharacterisdifferent。Inaristocraciesthecareerofambitionisoftenwide，butitsboundariesaredetermined。Indemocraciesambitioncommonlyrangesinanarrowerfield，butifonceitgetsbeyondthat，hardlyanylimitscanbeassignedtoit。Asmenareindividuallyweak—astheyliveasunder，andinconstantmotion—asprecedentsareoflittleauthorityandlawsbutofshortduration，resistancetonoveltyislanguid，andthefabricofsocietyneverappearsperfectlyerectorfirmlyconsolidated。Sothat，whenonceanambitiousmanhasthepowerinhisgrasp，thereisnothinghemaynotedare;andwhenitisgonefromhim，hemeditatestheoverthrowoftheStatetoregainit。Thisgivestogreatpoliticalambitionacharacterofrevolutionaryviolence，whichitseldomexhibitstoanequaldegreeinaristocraticcommunities。Thecommonaspectofdemocraticnationswillpresentagreatnumberofsmallandveryrationalobjectsofambition，fromamongstwhichafewill—controlleddesiresofalargergrowthwillatintervalsbreakout:butnosuchathingasambitionconceivedandcontrivedonavastscaleistobemetwiththere。
Ihaveshownelsewherebywhatsecretinfluencetheprincipleofequalitymakesthepassionforphysicalgratificationsandtheexclusiveloveofthepresentpredominateinthehumanheart:thesedifferentpropensitiesminglewiththesentimentofambition，andtingeit，asitwere，withtheirhues。
Ibelievethatambitiousmenindemocraciesarelessengrossedthananyotherswiththeinterestsandthejudgmentofposterity;
thepresentmomentaloneengagesandabsorbsthem。Theyaremoreapttocompleteanumberofundertakingswithrapiditythantoraiselastingmonumentsoftheirachievements;andtheycaremuchmoreforsuccessthanforfame。Whattheymostaskofmenisobedience—whattheymostcovetisempire。Theirmannershaveinalmostallcasesremainedbelowtheheightoftheirstation;
theconsequenceisthattheyfrequentlycarryverylowtastesintotheirextraordinaryfortunes，andthattheyseemtohaveacquiredthesupremepoweronlytoministertotheircoarseorpaltrypleasures。
Ithinkthatinourtimeitisverynecessarytocleanse，toregulate，andtoadaptthefeelingofambition，butthatitwouldbeextremelydangeroustoseektoimpoverishandtorepressitover—much。Weshouldattempttolaydowncertainextremelimits，whichitshouldneverbeallowedtooutstep;butitsrangewithinthoseestablishedlimitsshouldnotbetoomuchchecked。I
confessthatIapprehendmuchlessfordemocraticsocietyfromtheboldnessthanfromthemediocrityofdesires。Whatappearstomemosttobedreadedisthat，inthemidstofthesmallincessantoccupationsofprivatelife，ambitionshouldloseitsvigoranditsgreatness—thatthepassionsofmanshouldabate，butatthesametimebelowered，sothatthemarchofsocietyshouldeverydaybecomemoretranquilandlessaspiring。Ithinkthenthattheleadersofmodernsocietywouldbewrongtoseektolullthecommunitybyastateoftoouniformandtoopeacefulhappiness;andthatitiswelltoexposeitfromtimetotimetomattersofdifficultyanddanger，inordertoraiseambitionandtogiveitafieldofaction。Moralistsareconstantlycomplainingthattherulingviceofthepresenttimeispride。
Thisistrueinonesense，forindeednoonethinksthatheisnotbetterthanhisneighbor，orconsentstoobeyhissuperior:
butitisextremelyfalseinanother;forthesamemanwhocannotenduresubordinationorequality，hassocontemptibleanopinionofhimselfthathethinksheisonlyborntoindulgeinvulgarpleasures。Hewillinglytakesupwithlowdesires，withoutdaringtoembarkinloftyenterprises，ofwhichhescarcelydreams。Thus，farfromthinkingthathumilityoughttobepreachedtoourcontemporaries，Iwouldhaveendeavorsmadetogivethemamoreenlargedideaofthemselvesandoftheirkind。
Humilityisunwholesometothem;whattheymostwantis，inmyopinion，pride。Iwouldwillinglyexchangeseveralofoursmallvirtuesforthisonevice。
ChapterXX:TheTradeOfPlace—HuntingInCertainDemocraticCountriesIntheUnitedStatesassoonasamanhasacquiredsomeeducationandpecuniaryresources，heeitherendeavorstogetrichbycommerceorindustry，orhebuyslandinthebushandturnspioneer。AllthatheasksoftheStateisnottobedisturbedinhistoil，andtobesecureofhisearnings。AmongstthegreaterpartofEuropeannations，whenamanbeginstofeelhisstrengthandtoextendhisdesires，thefirstthingthatoccurstohimistogetsomepublicemployment。Theseoppositeeffects，originatinginthesamecause，deserveourpassingnotice。
Whenpublicemploymentsarefewinnumber，ill—paidandprecarious，whilstthedifferentlinesofbusinessarenumerousandlucrative，itistobusiness，andnottoofficialduties，thatthenewandeagerdesiresengenderedbytheprincipleofequalityturnfromeveryside。Butif，whilsttheranksofsocietyarebecomingmoreequal，theeducationofthepeopleremainsincomplete，ortheirspiritthereverseofbold—ifcommerceandindustry，checkedintheirgrowth，affordonlyslowandarduousmeansofmakingafortune—thevariousmembersofthecommunity，despairingofamelioratingtheirowncondition，rushtotheheadoftheStateanddemanditsassistance。Torelievetheirownnecessitiesatthecostofthepublictreasury，appearstothemtobetheeasiestandmostopen，ifnottheonly，waytheyhavetoriseaboveaconditionwhichnolongercontentsthem;place—huntingbecomesthemostgenerallyfollowedofalltrades。Thismustespeciallybethecase，inthosegreatcentralizedmonarchiesinwhichthenumberofpaidofficesisimmense，andthetenureofthemtolerablysecure，sothatnoonedespairsofobtainingaplace，andofenjoyingitasundisturbedlyasahereditaryfortune。
Ishallnotremarkthattheuniversalandinordinatedesireforplaceisagreatsocialevil;thatitdestroysthespiritofindependenceinthecitizen，anddiffusesavenalandservilehumorthroughouttheframeofsociety;thatitstiflesthemanliervirtues:norshallIbeatthepainstodemonstratethatthiskindoftrafficonlycreatesanunproductiveactivity，whichagitatesthecountrywithoutaddingtoitsresources:allthesethingsareobvious。ButIwouldobserve，thatagovernmentwhichencouragesthistendencyrisksitsowntranquillity，andplacesitsveryexistenceingreatjeopardy。Iamawarethatatatimelikeourown，whentheloveandrespectwhichformerlyclungtoauthorityareseengraduallytodecline，itmayappearnecessarytothoseinpowertolayacloserholdoneverymanbyhisowninterest，anditmayseemconvenienttousehisownpassionstokeephiminorderandinsilence;butthiscannotbesolong，andwhatmayappeartobeasourceofstrengthforacertaintimewillassuredlybecomeintheendagreatcauseofembarrassmentandweakness。
Amongstdemocraticnations，aswellaselsewhere，thenumberofofficialappointmentshasintheendsomelimits;butamongstthosenations，thenumberofaspirantsisunlimited;itperpetuallyincreases，withagradualandirresistibleriseinproportionassocialconditionsbecomemoreequal，andisonlycheckedbythelimitsofthepopulation。Thus，whenpublicemploymentsaffordtheonlyoutletforambition，thegovernmentnecessarilymeetswithapermanentoppositionatlast;foritistaskedtosatisfywithlimitedmeansunlimiteddesires。Itisverycertainthatofallpeopleintheworldthemostdifficulttorestrainandtomanageareapeopleofsolicitants。Whateverendeavorsaremadebyrulers，suchapeoplecanneverbecontented;anditisalwaystobeapprehendedthattheywillultimatelyoverturntheconstitutionofthecountry，andchangetheaspectoftheState，forthesolepurposeofmakingaclearanceofplaces。Thesovereignsofthepresentage，whostrivetofixuponthemselvesaloneallthosenoveldesireswhicharearousedbyequality，andtosatisfythem，willrepentintheend，ifIamnotmistaken，thattheyeverembarkedinthispolicy:theywillonedaydiscoverthattheyhavehazardedtheirownpower，bymakingitsonecessary;andthatthemoresafeandhonestcoursewouldhavebeentoteachtheirsubjectstheartofprovidingforthemselves。*a[Footnotea...完整阅读请扫描二维码下载丁香书院APP免费看：
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