cely more competent than I was; the combined ignorance of
ten millions is not the equivalent of one man's wisdom. A people may be
consulted and, in an extreme case, may declare what form of government
it would like best, but not that which it most needs. Nothing but
experience can determine this; it must have time to ascertain whether
the political structure is convenient, substantial, able to withstand
inclemency, and adapted to customs, habits, occupations, characters,
peculiarities and caprices. For example, the one we have tried has never
satisfied us; we have during eighty years demolished it thirteen times,
each time setting it up anew, and always in vain, for never have we
found one that suited us. If other nations have been more fortunate, or
if various political structures abroad have proved stable and enduring,
it is because these have been erected in a special way. Founded on some
primitive, massive pile, supported by an old central edifice, often
restored but always preserved, gradually enlarged, and, after numerous
trials and additions, they have been adapted to the wants of its
occupants. It is well to admit, perhaps, that there is no other way
of erecting a permanent building. Never has one been put up
instantaneously, after an entirely new design, and according to the
measurements of pure Reason. A sudden contrivance of a new, suitable,
and enduring constitution is an enterprise beyond the forces of the
human mind.

In any event, I came to the conclusion that if we should ever discover
the one we need it would not be through some fashionable theory. The
point is, if it exists, to discover it, and not to put it to a vote. To
do that would not only be pretentious it would be useless; history and
nature will do it for us; it is for us to adapt ourselves to them, as
it is certain they will accommodate themselves to us. The social and
political mold, into which a nation may enter and remain, is not
subject to its will, but determined by its character and its past. It
is essential that, even in its least traits, it should be shaped on the
living material to which it is applied; otherwise it will burst and fall
to pieces. Hence, if we should succeed in finding ours, it will only be
through a study of ourselves, while the more we understand exactly what
we are, the more certainly shall we distinguish what best suits us.
We ought, therefore, to reverse the ordinary methods, and form some
conception of the nation