12 Che Conservative.
THE FALLACY OF A DEMOCKACY.
Ill his "Universal History , " Tytler
Fays in his review of the so-called Greek
Republics : "Whore , it may be asked ,
was that democracy ever found on earth
where men loved equality ; where they
were satisfied with the degree of con
sideration they could procure by their
own abilities fairly measured with those
of an opponent a circumstance in itself
utterly destructive of equality labored
for the public without hope of profit ,
( recommended to the consideration of
BryanAltgeld & Co. ) and rejected every
attempt to create a personal dependence ?
Did such a government ever exist , or ,
while society consists of human beings ,
is it possible that such should ever exist ?
While man is being instigated by the
love of power a passion visible in an
infant , and common to us even with the
inferior animals he will seek personal
superiority in preference to every mat
ter of general concern ; or , at best , he
will employ himself in advancing the
public good , as the means of individual
distinction and elevation ; he will pro
mote the interests of the state from the
selfish but most useful passion of making
himself considerable in that establish
ment which he labors to aggrandize. "
The Gratitude of a Democracy.
( While the latter part of the above
quotation expresses all the state or
society should ever expect of individual ,
the only ethical relations , nevertheless
Tytler goes on and speaks in praise of
that insane condition : "Sacrifice for
the public good" , as if it were a virtue ,
whereas it is nothing more than the
most intense self-gratification , in which
society gets all the good and the actor
all the bad , except the gratification of
his emotional insanity. )
Tytler continues : "Such is the true
picture of man as a political agent. ( He
should have said'normal ' "
picture. ) "But
let it not be understood that what is here
affirmed with regard to the community
at large is strictly true of every mem
ber who composes it. If we look in
vain lor disinterested patriotism m the
aggregate of a people , it would be a rash
and unjust conclusion to assert that no
such virtue exists in the breasts of in
dividuals. " ( Which is just what
the writer does assert. The man who
gratifies his strongest passion , even if in
serving the public , cannot be said to do
it disinterestedly. He gets the very re
ward he most desires in gratifying his
nature. The trouble with such writers
is that they do not understand human
nature. ) The same evidence of history
which proves the truth of the one asser
tion , would suffice to disprove the other.
The annals of the Greek and Roman
states record examples of the most ex
alted patriotic virtue in a few distin
guished characters , whose names come
down with honor to modern times. "
( They had little or none in their own
and are destined to survive to the latesl
posterity. But these examples afford in
themselves a proof which confirms the
general proposition : that the public does
not consider the self-indalgont laborer
worthy of his hire. In one respect the
public is right. It denies the morality of
free service. ) "The admiration which
those virtuous individuals excited while
they lived" ( generally expressed in in
sult , neglect and banishment ) "the last
ing honors that attend their memory"
( post-mortem dividends ) "demonstrate
the irregularity and rareness of that
character , the difficulty of its attain
ment" ( it cannot be attained. It is born
in them ) "and thence the distinguished
honors which it claims , as approaching ,
as near as possible to the ideal perfection
of human nature. " ( After all , the ver
dict of the contemporary public that
such 'ideals' now are 'insane' is more
nearly correct than people of a later date
think. The most comprehensive yet
exact definition of insanity is the indi
vidual neglect of the fundamental neces
sity of self-preservation. Imbecility is
the total inability of self-preservation.
Some of those "ideal" characters are so
intensely one-sided in their altruism as
to be practically imbeciles. The same is
true of the public which ignores and
denies the value of their service and
fails to materially reward them in life. )
Democracy anil Patriotism.
On this subject Tytler says : "A
democratic government opposes more
impediments to disinterested patriotism
than any other form. To surmount
these , a pitch of virtue" ( more intense
insanity ) "is necessary which , in other
situations , where the obstacles are less
great and numerous , is not called into
exertion. " ( Which is simply saying
that in monarchies , where the personal
service is more individual than in a re
public where it is general , such virtue is
more liable to be appreciated and re
warded , which is the fact , ) "The
nature of a republic gives to every mem
ber of the state an equal right to cherish
views of ambition , and to aspire to the
highest offices of the commonwealth. "
( Thereby increasing the struggle for
them and constantly tending to the suc
cess of mediocrity or subservitiveness
and corruption , hence opposed to the
service of men of the highest type of in
telligence and manly independence. ) "It
gives to every individual the same title
with his fellows to aspire to govern
ment of the whole. " ( An ideal state
ment at once contradicted by the var
iations in individual inability an I by the
fact that subserviency is most often the
winning car das illustrated in McKiuley. )
Democracy Favors DcmugogiBin and Cor
ruption.
"The number of candidates excites
rivalships , contentions , factions. The
glorious names of liberty and patriotism
are always found effectual to rouse and
inflame the multitude ; indeed to blind
the multitude to the real character and
views of the demagogue , but ever suf
ficient to be a mask to their own love of
tumult and hatred of their superiors"
( Bryanarchy. ) "In such a state of so
ciety ( populistic socialism ) "how rare
is genuine virtue ; how singular the
character of a truly disinterested pat
riot. He appears and he is treated as an
impostor. He attempts to serve his
country in its councils ; or in offices.
He is calumniated , reviled , persecuted ;
he dies in disgrace or banishment , and
the same envy which maligned him
living , embalms him when dead , and
showers encomiums on his memory to
depress and mortify the few surviving
imitators of his virtues. " ( If such
virtue is not suicidal insanity what is ? )
"The history of the Grecian states , that
a democracy has produced some splendid
( should be 'sad' ) models of genuine pat
riotism in the persons of Aristides , Milti-
ades and Oimon. We have seen the
reward that attended that character
under that form of government , of
which we are taught to believe that
virtue is the chief principle. We have
seen such men treated as imposters ,
calumniated , reviled , persecuted , dis-
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