dreaded.

As the rulers of democratic nations are almost always exposed to
the suspicion of dishonorable conduct, they in some measure lend the
authority of the Government to the base practices of which they are
accused. They thus afford an example which must prove discouraging
to the struggles of virtuous independence, and must foster the secret
calculations of a vicious ambition. If it be asserted that evil passions
are displayed in all ranks of society, that they ascend the throne by
hereditary right, and that despicable characters are to be met with
at the head of aristocratic nations as well as in the sphere of a
democracy, this objection has but little weight in my estimation. The
corruption of men who have casually risen to power has a coarse and
vulgar infection in it which renders it contagious to the multitude. On
the contrary, there is a kind of aristocratic refinement and an air of
grandeur in the depravity of the great, which frequently prevent it from
spreading abroad.

The people can never penetrate into the perplexing labyrinth of court
intrigue, and it will always have difficulty in detecting the turpitude
which lurks under elegant manners, refined tastes, and graceful
language. But to pillage the public purse, and to vend the favors of the
State, are arts which the meanest villain may comprehend, and hope to
practice in his turn.

In reality it is far less prejudicial to witness the immorality of the
great than to witness that immorality which leads to greatness. In a
democracy private citizens see a man of their own rank in life, who
rises from that obscure position, and who becomes possessed of riches
and of power in a few years; the spectacle excites their surprise and
their envy, and they are led to inquire how the person who was yesterday
their equal is to-day their ruler. To attribute his rise to his talents
or his virtues is unpleasant; for it is tacitly to acknowledge that they
are themselves less virtuous and less talented than he was. They are
therefore led (and not unfrequently their conjecture is a correct one)
to impute his success mainly to some one of his defects; and an odious
mixture is thus formed of the ideas of turpitude and power, unworthiness
and success, utility and dishonor.

Efforts Of Which A Democracy Is Capable

The Union has only had one struggle hitherto for its
existence--Enthusiasm at the commencement of the war--Indifference
towards its close--Difficulty of estab