The Form Of Government And The Condition

It Is Very Easy To Speak Words Of Wisdom From A Comfortable Distance, When One Sees No Reality, No Details, None Of The Effect On Men's Minds.

Liberty Is Not The Power Of Doing What We Like, But The Right Of Being Able To Do What We Ought.

The State Is Competent To Assign Duties And Draw The Line Between Good And Evil Only In Its Immediate Sphere. Beyond The Limits Of Things Necessary For Its Well-being, It Can Only Give Indirect Help To Fight The Battle Of Life By Promoting The Influences Which Prevail Against Temptation--religion, Education, And The Distribution Of Wealth.

Neither An Enlightened Philosophy, Nor All The Political Wisdom Of Rome, Nor Even The Faith And Virtue Of The Christians Availed Against The Incorrigible Tradition Of Antiquity. Something Was Wanted, Beyond All The Gifts Of Reflection And Experience - A Faculty Of Self Government And Self Control, Developed Like Its Language In The Fibre Of A Nation, And Growing With Its Growth.

A History That Should Pursue All The Subtle Threads From End To End Might Be Eminently Valuable, But Not As A Tribute To Peace And Conciliation.