speedily
to limit their discernment and to circumscribe their powers. They
might be much poorer and still be greater. The small number of opulent
citizens who are to be found amidst a democracy do not constitute an
exception to this rule. A man who raises himself by degrees to wealth
and power, contracts, in the course of this protracted labor, habits
of prudence and restraint which he cannot afterwards shake off. A man
cannot enlarge his mind as he would his house. The same observation is
applicable to the sons of such a man; they are born, it is true, in a
lofty position, but their parents were humble; they have grown up amidst
feelings and notions which they cannot afterwards easily get rid of;
and it may be presumed that they will inherit the propensities of their
father as well as his wealth. It may happen, on the contrary, that
the poorest scion of a powerful aristocracy may display vast ambition,
because the traditional opinions of his race and the general spirit of
his order still buoy him up for some time above his fortune. Another
thing which prevents the men of democratic periods from easily indulging
in the pursuit of lofty objects, is the lapse of time which they foresee
must take place before they can be ready to approach them. "It is a
great advantage," says Pascal, "to be a man of quality, since it brings
one man as forward at eighteen or twenty as another man would be at
fifty, which is a clear gain of thirty years." Those thirty years
are commonly wanting to the ambitious characters of democracies. The
principle of equality, which allows every man to arrive at everything,
prevents all men from rapid advancement.

In a democratic society, as well as elsewhere, there are only a certain
number of great fortunes to be made; and as the paths which lead to them
are indiscriminately open to all, the progress of all must necessarily
be slackened. As the candidates appear to be nearly alike, and as it
is difficult to make a selection without infringing the principle of
equality, which is the supreme law of democratic societies, the first
idea which suggests itself is to make them all advance at the same rate
and submit to the same probation. Thus in proportion as men become
more alike, and the principle of equality is more peaceably and deeply
infused into the institutions and manners of the country, the rules
of advancement become more inflexible, advancement itself slower, the
difficulty of arriving quickly a