What did our felon in the oval call today? Liberation day? Hah! It is another wage slavery day, another oligarch's day.
Below are many, many excerpts from John Adams' work on character and government that I typed up around 25 years ago. I thought I might use them but never did. I like them and want to share them without commentary. Discourses on Davila is a series of essays written by John Adams in 1790-1791, originally published in the Gazette of the United States. The full title is actually: Discourses on Davila: A Series of Papers on Political History. The essays were inspired by Adams' reading of History of the Civil Wars of France, by Italian historian and diplomat Enrico Caterino Davila (1576–1631).
Adam's attended to Davila's account of France's 16th century internecine strife while he was serving his first term as America's first vice president, which was taking place while the French Revolution was playing out. He published the papers individually in the Gazette of the United States, which was a Federalist party mouthpiece. Jefferson's Democratic party paper was called the National Gazette. For context, here are some dates and events: March 4th 1789, First US Congress convened
April 30th 1789, Washington and Adams inaugurated
May 5th 1789, Estates General Convened, Versailles
June 17th 1789, National Assembly established, Paris
July 14th 1789, Storming of the Bastille, Paris
October 5th-6th 1789, Women's March to Versailles to demand bread and speech, Louis XVI forced to relocate to Paris
1790-91, Adams pens the Discourses on Davila
March 4th 1791, Vermont becomes 14th state
June 20th 1791, Louis XVI flight to Varennes fails
September 14th 1791, Louis XVI accepts the new Constitution, France becomes a constitutional monarchy
December 15th 1791, US Bill of Rights ratified and adopted
1792, Washington and Adams reelected
1793, Louis XVI executed, reign of terror begins
1794, Robespierre executed, reign of terror ends
March 4 1797, Adams becomes president, Thomas Jefferson is vice president
November 9 1799, Napoleon seizes power in the Coup of 18 Brumaire
March 4 1801, Thomas Jefferson becomes president
1804, Napoleon crowned emperor, Jefferson reelected
Adams brought out updated and edited versions of the Discourses in 1804, which is the edition cited below. The terror and the rise of Napoleon, he thought, validated his warnings about the dangers of populism and factionalism, along with his concern that revolution could lead to authoritarian forms of government. France had made the bid for liberty, but got a tyrant instead. Why? Because of their unicameral legislature, known as the National Assembly. It was never able to deliver the kind of stability that a bicameral legislature could. And this incessant instability eventually gave way to tyranny by a populist. Meanwhile, America held four successful elections between 1788 and 1800, and held its 5th national election the same year Napoleon crowned himself.
My interest, when I typed up these notes was mostly moral and psychological, not political. I went light on material about legislatures, factions and political balance. Read the book for more on those. The selection below represents my harvest of notes on vanity, fear, ambition, emulation, and other psycho-moral stuff of the sort Aristotle, La Rochefoucauld, Hobbes, Hume and Nietzsche discuss. Adams belongs in this line of thought due to his concern with the elements of character and their influence on good government. He was at heart pessimistic about human nature, and believed that even the best disposition required governance by a constitution. He saw what he calls the passion for distinction, as the central political passion.
John
Adams Discourses on Davila, 1790.
(1804 ed.) New York: Da Capo Press, 1973 [spelling modernized]
Discourse #4
Men,
in their primitive conditions, however savage, were undoubtedly gregarious—and
they continue to be social, not only in every stage of civilization, but in
every possible situation in which they can be placed. As nature intended them for society, she has
furnished them with passions, appetites, and propensities, as well as a variety
of faculties, calculated both for their individual enjoyment, and to render
them useful to each other in their social connections. There is none among them more essential or
remarkable than the passion for distinction. A desire to be observed, considered,
esteemed, praised, beloved, and admired by his fellows, is one of the earliest,
as well as keenest dispositions discovered in the heart of man. …
Wherever men, women or children are to be found, whether they be old or
young—rich or poor—high or low—wise or foolish—ignorant or learned—every
individual is seen to be strongly actuated by a desire to be seen, heard,
talked of, approved and respected by the people about him. (25f)
A
regard to the sentiments of mankind concerning him, and to their dispositions
towards him, every man feels within himself; and if he has reflected and tried
experiments, he has found, that no exertion of his reason—no effort of his
will, can wholly divest him of it. (26)
In
proportion to our affection for the notice of others is our aversion to their
neglect; the stronger the desire of the esteem of the public, the more powerful
the aversion to their disapprobation—the more exalted the wish for admiration,
the more invincible the abhorrence of contempt.
(27)
Every
man not only desires the consideration of others, but he frequently compares
himself with others, his friends or his enemies, and in proportion as he exults
when he perceives he has more of it, than they, he feels a keener affliction
when he sees that one or more of them, are more respected than himself. (27)
This
passion, while it is simply a desire to excel another, by fair industry in the
search of truth and the practice of virtue, is properly called Emulation. When it aims at power, as a means of
distinction, it is Ambition. When
it is in a situation to suggest the sentiments of fear and apprehension, that
another, who is now inferior, will become superior, it is denominated Jealousy. –When it is in a state of mortification, at
the superiority of another, and desires to bring him down to our level, or depress
him below us, it is properly called Envy. When it deceives a man into a belief in false
professions of esteem or admiration, or into a false opinion of his importance
in the judgment of the world, it is Vanity. These observations alone would be sufficient
to shew, that this propensity, in all its branches, is a principal source of
the virtues and vices, the happiness and misery of human life; and that the
history of mankind is little more than a simple narration of its operation and
effects. (27)
There
is in human nature, it is true, simple Benevolence—or an affection for
the good of others—but alone it is not a balance for the selfish
affections. Nature then has kindly added
to benevolence, the desire of reputation, in order to make us good members of
society. … Nature has sanctioned the law of
self-preservation by rewards and punishments.
The rewards of selfish activity are life and health—the punishments of
negligence and indolence are want, disease and death.
… nature…has imposed another law, that of respecting the
rights of mankind, and has sanctioned it by other rewards and punishments, The rewards in this case, in this life, are esteem
and admiration of others—the punishments are neglect and contempt…. (28)
The
desire of the esteem of others is as real a want of nature as hunger—and the
neglect and contempt of the world as severe a pain, as the gout or a
stone. (28)
It
is a principle end of government to regulate this passion, which in its turn
becomes a principal means of government.
It is the only
adequate instrument of order and subordination in society, and alone commands effectual
obedience to laws, since without it neither human reason, nor standing
armies, would ever produce that great effect.
(28f)
Every personal quality, and every blessing of
fortune, is cherished in proportion to its capacity of gratifying this
universal affection for the esteem, the sympathy, the admiration and
congratulations of the public. Beauty in
the face, elegance in figure, grace of attitude and motion, riches, honors,
every thing is weighed in the scale, and desired, not so much for the pleasure
they afford, as the attention they command.
(29)
Is
it for the momentous purpose of dancing and drawing, painting and music, riding
and fencing, that men and women are destined in this life or any other? Yet those who have the best means of
education, bestow more attention and expense on those, than on more solid
acquisitions. Why? Because they attract more forcibly the
attention of the world, and procure a better advancement in life. Notwithstanding all this, as soon as an
establishment in life is made, they are found to have answered their ends, and
are laid aside neglected. (30)
[Why
does ancestry matter so much in so many cultures and eras?] The mighty secret lies in this: An
illustrious descent attracts the notice of mankind. A single drop of royal blood, however
illegitimately scattered, will make any man or woman proud or vain. Why?
Because, although it excites the indignation of many, and the envy of
more, it still attracts the attention of the world. Noble blood, whether the nobility be
hereditary or elective, and indeed more in republican governments than in
monarchies, least of all in despotisms, is held in estimation for the same
reason. It is a name…that a nation has
been interested in, and is in the habit of respecting. Benevolence, sympathy, congratulation, have
been so long associated to those names in the minds of the people, that they
are become national habits. (31)
This
desire for the consideration of our fellowmen, and their congratulations in our
joys, is not less invincible, than the desire of their sympathy in our
sorrows. It is a determination of our
nature that lies at the foundation of our whole moral system in this world, and
may be connected essentially with our destination in a future state. (32)
Discourse #5
Riches
force the opinion on a man that he is the object of congratulations of others;
and he feels that they attract the complaisance of the public. His senses all inform him that his neighbors
have a natural disposition to harmonize with all those pleasing emotions, and
agreeable sensations, which the elegant accommodations around him are supposed
to excite. His imagination expands, and
his heart dilates at these charming illusions: and his attachment to his
possessions increases, as fast as his desire to accumulate more: not for the
purposes of beneficence or utility, but from the desire of illustration. (33)
…because
riches attract the attention, consideration and congratulations of mankind;
it is not because the rich have really more of ease or pleasure than the
poor. (33)
…there
is more respectability in the eyes of the greater part of mankind, in the gaudy
trappings of wealth, than there is in genius or learning, wisdom or
virtue. (34)
The
poor man’s conscience is clear; yet he is ashamed. His character is irreproachable, yet he is
neglected and despised. He feels himself
out of sight of others, groping in the dark.
Mankind take no notice of him; he rambles and wanders unheeded. In the midst of a crowd, at church, in the
market, at a play, at an execution or a coronation, he is in as much obscurity
as he would be in a garret or a cellar.
He is not disapproved, censured or reproached: he is only not seen. This total inattention is to him mortifying,
painful and cruel. (35)
There
must be one indeed who is the last and lowest of the human species. But there is no risk in asserting that there
is no one, who believes and will acknowledge himself to be the man. To be wholly overlooked and to know it, are
intolerable. (35)
If you follow these persons, however, into
their scenes of life, you will find that there is a kind of figure which the
meanest of them all endeavors to make; a kind of little grandeur and respect,
which the most insignificant study and labour to procure, in the small circle
of their acquaintances. Not only the
poorest mechanic, but the man who lives upon charity, nay the common beggars in
the streets; and not only those who may be all innocent, but even those who
have abandoned themselves to common infamy as pirates, highwaymen and common
thieves, court a set of admirers, and plume themselves on that superiority,
which they have, or fancy they have, over some others. (35)
To
feel ourselves unheeded, chills the most pleasing hope—damps the most fond
desire—checks the most agreeable wish—disappoints the most ardent expectations
of human nature. (36)
Is
the pleasure that accompanies the pursuit of knowledge so exquisite? If Crusoe, on his island, had the
library of Alexandria, and a certainty that he should never again see
the face of man, would he ever open a volume?
Perhaps he might, but it is very probable that he would read but
little. A sense of duty; a love of
truth; a desire to alleviate the anxieties of ignorance may, no doubt, have an
influence on some minds. But the
universal idol of men of letters is reputation. It is the notoriety, the celebration,
which constitutes the charm, which is to compensate the loss of appetite and
sleep, and sometimes riches and honors.
(36)
The
soldier compares himself with his fellows and contends for promotion to be a
Corporal: the Corporals vie with each other to become Sergeants: the Sergeants
will mount breaches to be Ensigns: and thus every man in an army is constantly
aspiring to be something higher, as every citizen in the commonwealth is
constantly struggling for a better rank, that he may draw the observation of
more eyes. (37)
Discourse #6
What
is it that bewitches mankind to marks and signs of wealth, status, or
authority? ... experience teaches
us, in every country of the world, that they attract the attention of mankind
more than parts of learning, virtue or religion. (38)
Fame
has been divided into three species: Glory, which attends the great actions of
lawgivers and heroes, and the management of the great commands and first
offices of state: Reputation, which is cherished by every gentleman: and
Credit, which is supported by merchants and tradesmen. But even this definition is incomplete,
because the object of it, though it may be considered in various lights, and
under different modifications, is not confined to gentlemen nor merchants, but
is common to every human being. (38)
There
are no men, who are not ambitious of distinguishing themselves, and growing
considerable among those with whom they converse. (38f)
This
ambition is natural to the human soul: and as when it receives a happy turn, it
is the source of private felicity and public prosperity; and when it errs,
produces private uneasiness and public calamities. It is the business and duty of private
prudence, of private and public education, and of national policy, to direct it
to right objects. (39)
…to
every man who is capable of a worthy conduct, the pleasure from the approbation
of worthy men is exquisite and inexpressible.
(39)
The
intellectual and moral powers are most within our power, and undoubtedly the
most essential to our happiness. The
personal qualities of health, strength, and agility, are next in importance. Yet, the qualities of fortune, such as birth,
riches and honors, though a man has less reason to esteem himself for these,
than for those of his mind or body, are, every where acknowledged to glitter
with the brightest luster, in the eyes of the world. (39)
A
virtue is the only rational source, and eternal foundation of honor, the wisdom
of nations, in the titles they have established as the marks of order and
subordination, has generally given an intimation, not of personal qualities
[like strength], nor of the qualities of fortune; but of some particular
virtues, more especially becoming of men, in the high stations they
possess. (39)
The
wisdom and virtue of all nations have endeavored to regulate the passion for
respect and distinction, and to reduce it to some order in society, by titles
marking the gradation of magistracy, to prevent, as far as human power and
policy can prevent, collisions among the passions of many pursuing the same
objects, and the rivalries, animosities, envy, jealousy and vengeance, which
always result from them. (40)
Has
there ever been a nation, who understood the human heart, better than the
Romans? Or made a better use of the
passion for consideration, congratulation and distinction? They considered, that as reason is the guide
of life, the senses, the imagination and the affections are the springs of
activity. Reason holds the helm, but
passions are the gales: and as the direct road to these is through the senses,
the language of signs was employed by Roman wisdom to excite the emulation and
active virtue of the citizens. Distinctions
of conditions, as well as of ages, were made by difference of cloathing.
(40f) …
…everything in religion, government and common life, among Romans, was
parade, representation and ceremony.
Everything was addressed to the emulation of the citizens, and every
thing was calculated to attract the attention, to allure the consideration, and
excite the congratulation of the people; to attach their hearts to individual
citizens, according to their merit; and to their lawgivers, magistrates, and
judges, according to their ranks, stations and importance in the state. (41f)
And
this was in the true spirit of republics, in which form of government there is
no other consistent method of preserving order, or procuring submission to the
laws. To such means as these, or to
force, and a standing army, recourse must be had, for the guardianship of laws,
and the protection of people. (42)
It
is universally true, that in all the Republics now remaining in Europe, there
is, as there ever has been, a more constant and anxious attention to such forms
and marks of distinction, than there is in the Monarchies. (42)
Discourse #7
…avarice
and ambition, vanity and pride, jealousy and envy, hatred and revenge, as well
as the love of knowledge and desire of fame are very often nothing more than
various modifications of that desire of the attention, consideration and
congratulations of our fellow men, which is the great spring of social
activity… (42f)
Nature
has ordained it, as a constant incentive to activity and industry, that, to
acquire the attention and complacency, the approbation and admiration of their
fellows, men might be urged to constant exertions of beneficence. …men of all sorts, even those who have the
least of reason, virtue or benevolence, are chained down to an incessant
servitude to their fellow-creatures, labouring without intermission to produce
something which shall contribute to the comfort, convenience, pleasure, profit
or utility of the species; they are really constituted by their own vanity,
slaves to mankind. (44)
The
language of nature to man in his constitution is this: I have given you reason, conscience, and benevolence: and thereby you
are accountable for your actions, and capable of virtue, in which you will find
your highest felicity. But I have not trusted wholly in your laudable improvement of these divine
gifts. To them I have superadded a passion in your bosoms, for
the notice and regard of your fellow mortals, which, if you perversely
violate your duty, and wholly neglect the part assigned you in the system of
the world, and in the society of mankind, shall torture you, from the cradle to
the grave. (45)
She [nature] has wrought the passions into the
texture and essence of the soul—and has not left it in the power of art to
destroy them. To regulate and not to
eradicate them is the province of policy.
It is of the highest importance to education, to life and to society,
not only that they should not be destroyed, but that they should be gratified,
encouraged and arranged on the side of virtue.
(45)
Emulation
really seems to produce genius, and the desire of superiority to create
talents. Either this, or the reverse of
it, must be true; and genius produces emulation, and natural talents, the
desire of superiority…. (46)
When
the love of glory inkindles in the heart, and influences the whole soul, then,
and only then, may we depend on a rapid progression of the intellectual
faculties. (46)
In
short, the theory of Education, and the science of government, may be reduced
to the same simple principle, and be all comprehended, in the knowledge of the
means of activity, conducting, controlling and regulating the emulation and
ambition of the citizens. (48)
Discourse #8
…the
expressions we have hitherto used, attention, consideration and congratulation,
comprehend with sufficient accuracy, the general object of the passion for
distinction, in the greater part of mankind.
There are not a few, from him who burned a temple, to the multitudes who
plunge into low debauchery, who deliberately seek it by crimes and vices. The greater number, however, search for it,
neither by vices nor virtues: but by the means, which common sense and every
day’s experiences shows, are most sure to obtain it; by riches, by family
records, by play, and other frivolous personal accomplishments. (48f)
…there
are a few, and God knows but a few, who…aim at approbation as well as
attention; at esteem as well as consideration; and at admiration and gratitude,
as well as congratulation. … …[this is] the tribe out of which proceeds
your patriots and heroes, and most of the great benefactors of mankind. But for our humiliation, we must still
remember, that even in these esteemed, beloved and adored characters, the
passion, although refined by the purest moral sentiments, and intended to be
governed by the best principles, is a passion still; and therefore, like all
other human desires, unlimited and insatiable. No man was ever contented with
any given share of this human adoration (49)
No
man was ever contented with any given share of this human adoration. (49)
Admiration
is indeed the complete idea of approbation, congratulation, and wonder
united. (49)
Man
constantly craves for more, even when he has no rival: But when he sees another
possessed of more, or drawing away from himself a part of what he had, he feels
a mortification, arising from the loss of a good he thought his own: --His
desire is disappointed: The pain of a want unsatisfied, is increased by a
resentment of an injustice, as he thinks it: He accuses his rival of a theft or
a robbery, and the public of taking away, what was his property, and giving it
to another. These feelings and resentments,
are but other names for jealousy and envy; and altogether, they produce some of
the keenest and most tormenting of all sentiments. (49f)
These
fermentations of the passions are so common and so well known, that the people
generally presume, that a person in such circumstances, is depraved of his
judgment, if not of his veracity and reason.
It is too generally a sufficient answer to any complaint, to any fact
alleged, or argument advanced, to say that it comes from a disappointed
man. (50)
As
no appetite in human nature is more universal than that for honor, and real
merit is confined to a very few, the numbers who thirst for respect, are out of
all proportion to those who seek it only by merit. (51)
The
great majority trouble themselves little about merit, but apply themselves to
seek for honor, by which means they see will more easily and certainly obtain
it, by displaying their taste and address, their wealth and magnificence, their
ancestral parchments, pictures, and statues, and the virtues of their
ancestors; and if these fail, as they seldom have done, they have recourse to
artifice, dissimulation, hypocrisy, flattery, imposture, empiricism, quackery
and bribery. What chance has humble,
modest, obscure and poor merit, in such a scramble? (51)
The Romans allowed none, but those who had
possessed … offices, to have statues or portraits. He, who had images or pictures of his
ancestors, was called noble. He who had
no pictures or statues but his own, was called a new man. Those who had none at all, were ignoble. (52)
It
is not to flatter the passions of the people, to be sure, nor is it the way to
obtain a present enthusiastic popularity, to tell them that in a single
assembly, they will act as arbitrarily and tyrannically as any despot, but it
is a sacred truth, and as demonstrable as any proposition whatever, that a
sovereignty made of a single assembly must necessarily be exercised by a
majority, as tyrannically as any sovereignty was ever exercised by Kings or
Nobles. And if a balance of passions and
interests is not scientifically concerted, the present struggle in Europe will
be little beneficial to mankind, and produce nothing but another thousand years
of feudal fanaticism, under new and strange names. (54)
Discourse #9
Providence,
which has placed one thing over against another, in the moral as well as
physical world, has surprisingly accommodated the qualities of men, to answer
one another. There is a remarkable
disposition in mankind to congratulate with others in their joys and
prosperity, more than to sympathize with them in their sorrows and
adversity. … There is less disposition to congratulate with
genius, talents, or virtue, than there is with beauty, strength and elegance of
person; and less with these than with the gifts of fortune and birth, wealth
and fame. The homage of the world is
devoted to these last, in a remarkable manner.
Experience concurs with religion in pronouncing, most decisively, that
this world is not a region of virtue or happiness; both are here at school, and
their struggles with ambition, avarice, and the desire of fame, appear to be
their discipline and exercise. (55)
In France, for example, the pregnancy of the
Queen is announced with great solemnity to the whole nation. Her majesty is scarcely afflicted with a pain
which is not formally communicated to the public. To this embryo the minds of the whole nation
are turned; and they follow him, day by day, in their thoughts, till he is
born. … To thousands who press to see
him, he is daily shown from the
nursery. Of every step in his education;
and of every gradation of his youthful growth, in body and mind, the public is
informed in Gazettes. … When he accedes
to the throne, the same attention is continued, till he dies. (58)
…all
civilized nations have found, by experience, the necessity of separating from
the body of the people, and even from the legislature, the distribution of
honors, and conferring it on the executive authority of government. When emulation of all citizens look up to one
point, like the rays of a circle from all parts of the circumference, meeting
and uniting in the center, you may hope for uniformity, consistency and
subordination: but when they look up to different individuals, or assemblies,
or councils, you may expect all the deformities, eccentricities, and confusion,
of the Polemick system. (59)
Discourse #10
The
kings of Europe, in the sight of philosophy, are the greatest slaves on earth,
how often so ever we may call them despots, tyrants, and other rude names, in
which our pride and vanity takes a wonderful delight: they have the least
exercise of their inclinations, the least personal liberty, and the least free
indulgence of their passions, of any men alive.
Yet how rare are the instances of resignations, and how universal is the
ambition to be noble, and the wish to be royal.
(60)
Experience
and philosophy are lost upon mankind.
The attention of the world has a charm in it, which few minds can
withstand. (60)
Great King, live forever! is the
compliment, which, after the manner of Eastern adulation, we should readily
make them, if experience did not teach us its absurdity. –Every calamity that
befalls them, every injury that is done them, excites in the breast of the
spectator, ten times more compassion and resentment, than he would have felt,
had the same things happened to other men.
(61)
It is the misfortune of Kings only,
which afford the proper subjects for tragedy; they resemble, in this respect,
the misfortune of lovers. These two
situations are the chief which interest us on the stage; because, in spite of
all that reason and experience can tell us to the contrary, the prejudices of
the imagination, attach to these two states a happiness superior to any
other. To disturb or put an end to such
perfect enjoyment, seems to be the most atrocious of all injuries. The traitor, who conspires against the life
of his monarch, is thought a greater monster, than any other murderer. (61)
All
the innocent blood that was shed in the civil wars, provoked less indignation
than the death of Charles I.
A stranger to human nature, who saw the indifference of men about the
misery of their inferiors, and the regret of indignation which they feel for
the misfortunes and sufferings of those above them, would be apt to imagine,
that pain must be more agonizing, the convulsions of death more terrible to
persons of higher rank, than to those of meaner stations. (62)
Our
obsequiousness to our superiors more frequently arises from our admiration for
the advantages of their situation, than from any private expectations of
benefit from their good will. Their
benefits can extend but to a few ; but their fortunes interest almost every
body. We are eager to assist them in
completing a system of happiness that approaches so near to perfection; and we
desire to serve them for their own sake, without any other recompense but the
vanity or the honor of obliging them.
(62)
That kings are the servants of people,
to be obeyed, resisted, deposed, or punished, as the public conveniency may
require, is the doctrine of reason and philosophy; but it is not the doctrine
of nature. Nature would teach us to
submit to them, for their own sakes, to tremble and bow down before their
exalted station, to regard their smile as a reward sufficient to compensate any
services, and to dread their displeasure, though no other evil was to follow
from it, as the severest of all mortifications.
To treat them in any respect as men, to reason and dispute with them
upon ordinary occasions, requires such resolution, that there are few men whose
magnanimity can support them in it, unless they are likewise assisted by
familiarity and acquaintance. The
strongest motives, the most furious passions, fear, hatred and resentment, are
scarce sufficient to balance this natural disposition to respect them…. (62f)
Politeness
is so much the virtue of the great, that it will do little honor to any body
but themselves. The coxcomb, who
imitates their manner, and affects to be eminent by the superior propriety of
his ordinary behavior, is rewarded with a double share of contempt for his
folly and presumption. (64f)
With
what impatience does the man of spirit and ambition, who is depressed by his
situation, look round for some great opportunity to distinguish himself? No circumstances which can afford this appear
to him undesirable; he even looks forward with satisfaction to the prospect of
foreign war, or civil dissention; and with secret transport and delight, sees,
through all the confusion and bloodshed which attend them, the probability of
all those whished-for occasions presenting themselves, in which he may draw
upon himself the attention and admiration of mankind. (65f)
To
those who have been accustomed to the possession, or even to the hope of public
admiration, all other pleasures sicken and decay. (68)
Of
such mighty importance does it appear to be in the imaginations of men, to
stand in that situation which sets them most in the view of general sympathy,
and attention…[that its attainment] is the end of half the labors of human
life; and is the cause of all the tumult and bustle, all the rapine and
injustice, which avarice and ambition have introduced into this world.
Discourse #13
Emulation,
which is imitation and something more—a desire not only to equal or resemble,
but to excel, is so natural a movement of the human heart, that, wherever men
are to be found, and in whatever manner associated or connected, we see its
effects. (74)
As
long as there is patriotism, there will be national emulation, vanity and
pride. It is national pride which
commonly stimulates kings and ministers.
(74)
We
are told that our friends, the National Assembly of France, have abolished all
distinctions. But be not deceived, my
dear countrymen. Impossibilities cannot
be performed. Have they leveled all
fortunes and equally divided all property? Have they made all men and women
equally wise, elegant and beautiful? …
Have they burned all their pictures, and broken their statues? Have they blotted out of all memories, the
names, places of abode, and illustrious actions of all their ancestors? … Have they no record, nor memory, who are
the men, who compose the present National Assembly? – Do they wish to have that
distinction forgotten? (78f)
Discourse #14
All
the miracles enumerated…must be performed in France, before all distinctions
can be annihilated, and distinctions in abundance would [still] be found, after
all [by the] French…in the history of England, Holland, Spain, Germany, Italy,
America, and all other countries on the globe.
(79)
That
there is already a scission, in the National Assembly, like all others, past,
present, and to come, is most certain.
There is an aristocratical party, a democratical party, an armed
neutrality, and most probably a monarchical party: besides another division,
who must finally prevail, or liberty will be lost: I mean a set of members, who
are equal friends to monarchy, aristocracy, and democracy, and wish for an
equal independent mixture of all three in their constitution. Each of these parties has its chief, and
these chiefs are or will be rivals. Religion will be both the object
and the pretext of some: liberty, of others: and leveling, downright leveling,
of not a few. But the attention,
consideration and congratulations of the public, will be the object of all. (81)
Contests
and dissentions will arise between these runners in the same race. The natural and usual progress, is, from
debate in the assembly to discussions in print; from the search of truth and
public utility in both, to sophistry and the spirit of party: Evils so greatly
dreaded by the ingenious “Citizen of New Heaven”…. [Adams’ note: Condorcet
called himself a citizen of new heaven, and “recommended a Government in a
Single Assembly, which was accordingly adopted and ruined France.”] … From sophistry and party spirit, the
transition is quick and easy to falsehood, imposture, and every species of
artificial evolution and criminal intrigue.
As unbalanced parties of every description can never tolerate a free
enquiry of any kind when employed against themselves, the license, and even the
most temperate freedom of the press, soon excites resentment and revenge. …cuffs and kicks, boxes and cudgels, are
heard of, among plebian statesmen; challenges and single combats among the
aristocratic legislators—riots and seditions eventually break men’s bones, or
flea off their skins. Lives are lost:
and when blood is once drawn, men, like other animals, become outrageous: If one party has not a superiority over the
other clear enough to decide every thing at its pleasure, a civil war
ensues. (82)
…aristocratical
rivalries and democratical rivalries too, when unbalanced against each other,
by some third mediating power, naturally and unfailingly produce a feudal
system. (83)
If
this should be the course in France, the poor, deluded, and devoted partisans
would soon be fond enough of decorating their leaders, with the old titles…or
doing anything else, to increase the power of their commander over themselves,
to unite their wills and forces for their own safety and defense, or to give
him weight with their enemies. (83) [Adams’ note: ‘This has all been
accomplished in the new Emperor Napoleon. 1804.’]
The
men of letters in France, are wisely reforming one feudal system; but may they
not unwisely, lay the foundation of another?
A legislature in one assembly, can have no other termination than in
civil dissention, feudal anarchy, or simple monarchy. (83)
Discourse #15
The
world grows more enlightened: Knowledge is more equally distributed:
Newspapers, Magazines, and circulating libraries have made mankind wiser:
Titles and distinctions, ranks and orders, parade and ceremony, are all going
out of fashion. … If all decorum, discipline and subordination
are to be destroyed, and universal
pyrrhonism, anarchy, and insecurity of property are to be introduced, nations
will soon wish their books in ashes, seek for darkness and ignorance,
superstition and fanaticism, as blessings, and follow the standard of the first
mad despot who, with the enthusiasm of another Mahomet, will endeavor to obtain
them. (85)
Are
riches, honors and beauty going out of fashion?
Is not the rage for them, on the contrary, increased faster than
improvement in knowledge? As long as
either of these are in vogue, will there not be emulations and rivalries? Does not the increase of knowledge in any man
increase his emulation; and the diffusion of knowledge among men, multiply
rivalries? Has the progress of science,
arts and letters, yet discovered that there are no passions in human
nature? No ambition, avarice or a desire
of fame? Are these passions cooled, diminished or
extinguished? … On the contrary, the more knowledge is diffused,
the more the passions are extended, and the more furious they grow? (85)
There
is no connection in the mind between science and passion, by which the former
can extinguish or diminish the latter: it on the contrary sometimes increases
them by giving them exercise. (86)
Are
the passions of Monks, the weaker for all their learning? Are jealousy, envy, hatred, malice and
revenge, as well as emulation and ambition, as rancorous in the cells of
Carmelites, as in the courts of Princes?
(86)
The
increase and dissemination of knowledge, instead of rendering unnecessary, the
checks of emulation and the balances of rivalry, in the orders of society and
constitution of government, augment the necessity of both. … Bad men increase
in knowledge as fast as good men, and science, arts, taste, sense and letters,
are employed for the purposes of injustice and tyranny, as well as those of law
and liberty; for corruption as well as for virtue. (86f)
[Adams’
note:] The envy, jealousy, rivalries, factions, cabals, intrigues and
animosities among the men of letters in Paris, were as violent at least as they
were at Court, and as furious, though not so bloody as they were among the
people and their government, under any form of their variable constitutions
from 1786 to 1804.
Frenchmen! Act and think like yourselves! Confessing human nature, be magnanimous and
wise. Acknowledging and boasting
yourselves to be men, avow the feelings of men!
The affectation of being exempted from passions, is inhuman. The grave pretension to such singularity is
solemn hypocrisy. Both are unworthy of
your frank and generous natures.
Consider that government is intended to set bounds to passions which
nature has not limited: and to assist reason, conscience, justice and truth in
controlling interests, which, without it, would be as unjust as uncontrollable.
(87)
In
a well balanced government, reason, conscience, truth and virtue must be
respected by all parties, and exerted for the public good. (87)
The essence of free government consists
in an effectual control of rivalries. (92)
Discourse #20
In
short, every man, and every body of men, is and has a rival. When the struggle is only between two,
whether individuals or bodies, it continues till one is swallowed up, or
annihilated, and the other becomes absolute master. As all this is a necessary consequence and
effect of the emulation which nature has implanted in our bosoms, it is wonderful that mankind
have so long been ignorant of the remedy, when a third party for an umpire, is
one so easy and obvious.
(141)
Discourse #28
It
is not one of the least evils of a civil war, that no man’s character is secure
against suspicions and imputations of the most enormous crimes. It is almost the universal practice for each
party to charge the leaders of the other, with every base action, every
sinister event, and every high handed wickedness, without much consideration or
enquiry, whether there is truth, or evidence, or even color to support the
accusation. (220)
“There
is no difference,” according to Aristotle, and history and experience, “between
a people governing by a majority in a single assembly, and a Monarch in a
tyranny; for their manners are the same, and they both hold a despotic power
over better persons than themselves.
Their decrees are like the other’s edicts—their demagogues like the
other’s flatterers.” (Aristotle, Politics
IV, iv)
Postscript (1804)
It
has been said that it is extremely difficult to preserve a balance. This is no more than to say that it is
extremely difficult to preserve liberty.
To this truth all ages and nations attest. … How long it will be before she returns to
her native skies, and leaves the whole human race in slavery, will depend on
the intelligence and virtue of the people.
A balance, with all its difficulty, must be preserved, or liberty is
lost forever. Perhaps, a perfect
balance, if it ever existed, has not been long maintained in its perfection;
yet such a balance as has been sufficient to liberty, has been supported, in
some nations, for many centuries together; and we must come , as near as we
can, to a perfect equilibrium, or all is lost.
When it is once widely departed from, the departure increases rapidly,
till the whole is lost. If the people
have not understanding and public virtue enough, and will not be persuaded of
the necessity of supporting an Independent Executive Authority, an Independent
Senate and an Independent Judiciary Power, as well as an Independent House of
Representatives all pretensions to a balance are lost and with them all hopes
of our security to our dearest interests; all hopes of Liberty. (248)
*I've never read Ferling's book. I just like this pic of Adams better than the others I can find online.
