Thecircumstancewhichmostcontributedtosecuretheindependenceofprivatepersonsinaristocraticages，was，thatthesupremepowerdidnotaffecttotakeuponitselfalonethegovernmentandadministrationofthecommunity;thosefunctionswerenecessarilypartiallylefttothemembersofthearistocracy:sothatasthesupremepowerwasalwaysdivided，itneverweighedwithitswholeweightandinthesamemanneroneachindividual。Notonlydidthegovernmentnotperformeverythingbyitsimmediateagency;butasmostoftheagentswhodischargeditsdutiesderivedtheirpowernotfromtheState，butfromthecircumstanceoftheirbirth，theywerenotperpetuallyunderitscontrol。Thegovernmentcouldnotmakeorunmaketheminaninstant，atpleasure，norbendtheminstrictuniformitytoitsslightestcaprice—thiswasanadditionalguaranteeofprivateindependence。Ireadilyadmitthatrecoursecannotbehadtothesamemeansatthepresenttime:butIdiscovercertaindemocraticexpedientswhichmaybesubstitutedforthem。Insteadofvestinginthegovernmentalonealltheadministrativepowersofwhichcorporationsandnobleshavebeendeprived，aportionofthemmaybeentrustedtosecondarypublicbodies，temporarilycomposedofprivatecitizens:thusthelibertyofprivatepersonswillbemoresecure，andtheirequalitywillnotbediminished。
TheAmericans，whocarelessforwordsthantheFrench，stilldesignatebythenameof"county"thelargestoftheiradministrativedistricts:butthedutiesofthecountorlord—
lieutenantareinpartperformedbyaprovincialassembly。Ataperiodofequalitylikeourownitwouldbeunjustandunreasonabletoinstitutehereditaryofficers;butthereisnothingtopreventusfromsubstitutingelectivepublicofficerstoacertainextent。Electionisademocraticexpedientwhichinsurestheindependenceofthepublicofficerinrelationtothegovernment，asmuchandevenmorethanhereditaryrankcaninsureitamongstaristocraticnations。Aristocraticcountriesaboundinwealthyandinfluentialpersonswhoarecompetenttoprovideforthemselves，andwhocannotbeeasilyorsecretlyoppressed:
suchpersonsrestrainagovernmentwithingeneralhabitsofmoderationandreserve。Iamverywellawarethatdemocraticcountriescontainnosuchpersonsnaturally;butsomethinganalogoustothemmaybecreatedbyartificialmeans。Ifirmlybelievethatanaristocracycannotagainbefoundedintheworld;
butIthinkthatprivatecitizens，bycombiningtogether，mayconstitutebodiesofgreatwealth，influence，andstrength，correspondingtothepersonsofanaristocracy。Bythismeansmanyofthegreatestpoliticaladvantagesofaristocracywouldbeobtainedwithoutitsinjusticeoritsdangers。Anassociationforpolitical，commercial，ormanufacturingpurposes，orevenforthoseofscienceandliterature，isapowerfulandenlightenedmemberofthecommunity，whichcannotbedisposedofatpleasure，oroppressedwithoutremonstrance;andwhich，bydefendingitsownrightsagainsttheencroachmentsofthegovernment，savesthecommonlibertiesofthecountry。
Inperiodsofaristocracyeverymanisalwaysboundsocloselytomanyofhisfellow—citizens，thathecannotbeassailedwithouttheircomingtohisassistance。Inagesofequalityeverymannaturallystandsalone;hehasnohereditaryfriendswhoseco—operationhemaydemand—noclassuponwhosesympathyhemayrely:heiseasilygotridof，andheistrampledonwithimpunity。Atthepresenttime，anoppressedmemberofthecommunityhasthereforeonlyonemethodofself—defence—hemayappealtothewholenation;andifthewholenationisdeaftohiscomplaint，hemayappealtomankind:theonlymeanshehasofmakingthisappealisbythepress。Thusthelibertyofthepressisinfinitelymorevaluableamongstdemocraticnationsthanamongstallothers;itistheonlycurefortheevilswhichequalitymayproduce。Equalitysetsmenapartandweakensthem;
butthepressplacesapowerfulweaponwithineveryman’sreach，whichtheweakestandloneliestofthemallmayuse。Equalitydeprivesamanofthesupportofhisconnections;butthepressenableshimtosummonallhisfellow—countrymenandallhisfellow—mentohisassistance。Printinghasacceleratedtheprogressofequality，anditisalsooneofitsbestcorrectives。
Ithinkthatmenlivinginaristocraciesmay，strictlyspeaking，dowithoutthelibertyofthepress:butsuchisnotthecasewiththosewholiveindemocraticcountries。ToprotecttheirpersonalindependenceItrustnottogreatpoliticalassemblies，toparliamentaryprivilege，ortotheassertionofpopularsovereignty。Allthesethingsmay，toacertainextent，bereconciledwithpersonalservitude—butthatservitudecannotbecompleteifthepressisfree:thepressisthechiefestdemocraticinstrumentoffreedom。
Somethinganalogousmaybesaidofthejudicialpower。Itisapartoftheessenceofjudicialpowertoattendtoprivateinterests，andtofixitselfwithpredilectiononminuteobjectssubmittedtoitsobservation;anotheressentialqualityofjudicialpowerisnevertovolunteeritsassistancetotheoppressed，butalwaystobeatthedisposalofthehumblestofthosewhosolicitit;theircomplaint，howeverfeebletheymaythemselvesbe，willforceitselfupontheearofjusticeandclaimredress，forthisisinherentintheveryconstitutionofthecourtsofjustice。Apowerofthiskindisthereforepeculiarlyadaptedtothewantsoffreedom，atatimewhentheeyeandfingerofthegovernmentareconstantlyintrudingintotheminutestdetailsofhumanactions，andwhenprivatepersonsareatoncetooweaktoprotectthemselves，andtoomuchisolatedforthemtoreckonupontheassistanceoftheirfellows。Thestrengthofthecourtsoflawhaseverbeenthegreatestsecuritywhichcanbeofferedtopersonalindependence;butthisismoreespeciallythecaseindemocraticages:privaterightsandinterestsareinconstantdanger，ifthejudicialpowerdoesnotgrowmoreextensiveandmorestrongtokeeppacewiththegrowingequalityofconditions。
Equalityawakensinmenseveralpropensitiesextremelydangeroustofreedom，towhichtheattentionofthelegislatoroughtconstantlytobedirected。Ishallonlyremindthereaderofthemostimportantamongstthem。Menlivingindemocraticagesdonotreadilycomprehendtheutilityofforms:theyfeelaninstinctivecontemptforthem—Ihaveelsewhereshownforwhatreasons。Formsexcitetheircontemptandoftentheirhatred;astheycommonlyaspiretononebuteasyandpresentgratifications，theyrushonwardstotheobjectoftheirdesires，andtheslightestdelayexasperatesthem。Thissametemper，carriedwiththemintopoliticallife，rendersthemhostiletoforms，whichperpetuallyretardorarresttheminsomeoftheirprojects。Yetthisobjectionwhichthemenofdemocraciesmaketoformsistheverythingwhichrendersformssousefultofreedom;fortheirchiefmeritistoserveasabarrierbetweenthestrongandtheweak，therulerandthepeople，toretardtheone，andgivetheothertimetolookabouthim。Formsbecomemorenecessaryinproportionasthegovernmentbecomesmoreactiveandmorepowerful，whilstprivatepersonsarebecomingmoreindolentandmorefeeble。Thusdemocraticnationsnaturallystandmoreinneedofformsthanothernations，andtheynaturallyrespectthemless。Thisdeservesmostseriousattention。Nothingismorepitifulthanthearrogantdisdainofmostofourcontemporariesforquestionsofform;forthesmallestquestionsofformhaveacquiredinourtimeanimportancewhichtheyneverhadbefore:
manyofthegreatestinterestsofmankinddependuponthem。I
thinkthatifthestatesmenofaristocraticagescouldsometimescontemnformswithimpunity，andfrequentlyriseabovethem，thestatesmentowhomthegovernmentofnationsisnowconfidedoughttotreattheveryleastamongthemwithrespect，andnotneglectthemwithoutimperiousnecessity。Inaristocraciestheobservanceofformswassuperstitious;amongstustheyoughttobekeptwithadeliberateandenlighteneddeference。
Anothertendency，whichisextremelynaturaltodemocraticnationsandextremelydangerous，isthatwhichleadsthemtadespiseandundervaluetherightsofprivatepersons。Theattachmentwhichmenfeeltoaright，andtherespectwhichtheydisplayforit，isgenerallyproportionedtoitsimportance，ortothelengthoftimeduringwhichtheyhaveenjoyedit。Therightsofprivatepersonsamongstdemocraticnationsarecommonlyofsmallimportance，ofrecentgrowth，andextremelyprecarious—
theconsequenceisthattheyareoftensacrificedwithoutregret，andalmostalwaysviolatedwithoutremorse。Butithappensthatatthesameperiodandamongstthesamenationsinwhichmenconceiveanaturalcontemptfortherightsofprivatepersons，therightsofsocietyatlargearenaturallyextendedandconsolidated:inotherwords，menbecomelessattachedtoprivaterightsattheverytimeatwhichitwouldbemostnecessarytoretainandtodefendwhatlittleremainsofthem。Itisthereforemostespeciallyinthepresentdemocraticages，thatthetruefriendsofthelibertyandthegreatnessofmanoughtconstantlytobeonthealerttopreventthepowerofgovernmentfromlightlysacrificingtheprivaterightsofindividualstothegeneralexecutionofitsdesigns。Atsuchtimesnocitizenissoobscurethatitisnotverydangeroustoallowhimtobeoppressed—noprivaterightsaresounimportantthattheycanbesurrenderedwithimpunitytothecapricesofagovernment。Thereasonisplain:—iftheprivaterightofanindividualisviolatedatatimewhenthehumanmindisfullyimpressedwiththeimportanceandthesanctityofsuchrights，theinjurydoneisconfinedtotheindividualwhoserightisinfringed;buttoviolatesucharight，atthepresentday，isdeeplytocorruptthemannersofthenationandtoputthewholecommunityinjeopardy，becausetheverynotionofthiskindofrightconstantlytendsamongstustobeimpairedandlost。
Therearecertainhabits，certainnotions，andcertainviceswhicharepeculiartoastateofrevolution，andwhichaprotractedrevolutioncannotfailtoengenderandtopropagate，whateverbe，inotherrespects，itscharacter，itspurpose，andthesceneonwhichittakesplace。Whenanynationhas，withinashortspaceoftime，repeatedlyvarieditsrulers，itsopinions，anditslaws，themenofwhomitiscomposedeventuallycontractatasteforchange，andgrowaccustomedtoseeallchangeseffectedbysuddenviolence。Thustheynaturallyconceiveacontemptforformswhichdailyproveineffectual;andtheydonotsupportwithoutimpatiencethedominionofruleswhichtheyhavesooftenseeninfringed。Astheordinarynotionsofequityandmoralitynolongersufficetoexplainandjustifyalltheinnovationsdailybegottenbyarevolution，theprincipleofpublicutilityiscalledin，thedoctrineofpoliticalnecessityisconjuredup，andmenaccustomthemselvestosacrificeprivateinterestswithoutscruple，andtotrampleontherightsofindividualsinordermorespeedilytoaccomplishanypublicpurpose。
Thesehabitsandnotions，whichIshallcallrevolutionary，becauseallrevolutionsproducethem，occurinaristocraciesjustasmuchasamongstdemocraticnations;butamongsttheformertheyareoftenlesspowerful...完整阅读请扫描二维码下载丁香书院APP免费看：
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