democracy in america-1-第102章

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independence　was　to　attack　religion；　they　look　upon　their　contemporaries　with　dread；　and　they　recoil　in　alarm　from　the　liberty　which　their　fellow…citizens　are　seeking　to　obtain。　　As　unbelief　appears　to　them　to　be　a　novelty；　they　comprise　all　that　is　new　in　one　indiscriminate　animosity。　　They　are　at　war　with　their　age　and　country；　and　they　look　upon　every　opinion　which　is　put　forth　there　as　the　necessary　enemy　of　the　faith。

Such　is　not　the　natural　state　of　men　with　regard　to　religion　at　the　present　day；　and　some　extraordinary　or　incidental　cause　must　be　at　work　in　France　to　prevent　the　human　mind　from　following　its　original　propensities　and　to　drive　it　beyond　the　limits　at　which　it　ought　naturally　to　stop。　　I　am　intimately　convinced　that　this　extraordinary　and　incidental　cause　is　the　close　connection　of　politics　and　religion。　　The　unbelievers　of　Europe　attack　the　Christians　as　their　political　opponents；　rather　than　as　their　religious　adversaries；　they　hate　the　Christian　religion　as　the　opinion　of　a　party；　much　more　than　as　an　error　of　belief；　and　they　reject　the　clergy　less　because　they　are　the　representatives　of　the　Divinity　than　because　they　are　the　allies　of　authority。

In　Europe；　Christianity　has　been　intimately　united　to　the　powers　of　the　earth。　　Those　powers　are　now　in　decay；　and　it　is；　as　it　were；　buried　under　their　ruins。　　The　living　body　of　religion　has　been　bound　down　to　the　dead　corpse　of　superannuated　polity：　cut　but　the　bonds　which　restrain　it；　and　that　which　is　alive　will　rise　once　more。　　I　know　not　what　could　restore　the　Christian　Church　of　Europe　to　the　energy　of　its　earlier　days；　that　power　belongs　to　God　alone；　but　it　may　be　the　effect　of　human　policy　to　leave　the　faith　in　the　full　exercise　of　the　strength　which　it　still　retains。


How　The　Instruction；　The　Habits；　And　The　Practical　Experience　Of　The　Americans　Promote　The　Success　Of　Their　Democratic　Institutions　


What　is　to　be　understood　by　the　instruction　of　the　American　people　…　The　human　mind　more　superficially　instructed　in　the　United　States　than　in　Europe　…　No　one　completely　uninstructed　…　Reason　of　this　…　Rapidity　with　which　opinions　are　diffused　even　in　the　uncultivated　States　of　the　West　…　Practical　experience　more　serviceable　to　the　Americans　than　book…learning。

I　have　but　little　to　add　to　what　I　have　already　said　concerning　the　influence　which　the　instruction　and　the　habits　of　the　Americans　exercise　upon　the　maintenance　of　their　political　institutions。

America　has　hitherto　produced　very　few　writers　of　distinction；　it　possesses　no　great　historians；　and　not　a　single　eminent　poet。　　The　inhabitants　of　that　country　look　upon　what　are　properly　styled　literary　pursuits　with　a　kind　of　disapprobation；　and　there　are　towns　of　very　second…rate　importance　in　Europe　in　which　more　literary　works　are　annually　published　than　in　the　twenty…four　States　of　the　Union　put　together。　　The　spirit　of　the　Americans　is　averse　to　general　ideas；　and　it　does　not　seek　theoretical　discoveries。　Neither　politics　nor　manufactures　direct　them　to　these　occupations；　and　although　new　laws　are　perpetually　enacted　in　the　United　States；　no　great　writers　have　hitherto　inquired　into　the　general　principles　of　their　legislation。　　The　Americans　have　lawyers　and　commentators；　but　no　jurists；　*h　and　they　furnish　examples　rather　than　lessons　to　the　world。　　The　same　observation　applies　to　the　mechanical　arts。　　In　America；　the　inventions　of　Europe　are　adopted　with　sagacity；　they　are　perfected；　and　adapted　with　admirable　skill　to　the　wants　of　the　country。　Manufactures　exist；　but　the　science　of　manufacture　is　not　cultivated；　and　they　have　good　workmen；　but　very　few　inventors。　　Fulton　was　obliged　to　proffer　his　services　to　foreign　nations　for　a　long　time　before　he　was　able　to　devote　them　to　his　own　country。


＇Footnote　h：　＇This　cannot　be　said　with　truth　of　the　country　of　Kent；　Story；　and　Wheaton。＇＇

The　observer　who　is　desirous　of　forming　an　opinion　on　the　state　of　instruction　amongst　the　Anglo…Americans　must　consider　the　same　object　from　two　different　points　of　view。　　If　he　only　singles　out　the　learned；　he　will　be　astonished　to　find　how　rare　they　are；　but　if　he　counts　the　ignorant；　the　American　people　will　appear　to　be　the　most　enlightened　community　in　the　world。　The　whole　population；　as　I　observed　in　another　place；　is　situated　between　these　two　extremes。　　In　New　England；　every　citizen　receives　the　elementary　notions　of　human　knowledge；　he　is　moreover　taught　the　doctrines　and　the　evidences　of　his　religion；　the　history　of　his　country；　and　the　leading　features　of　its　Constitution。　　In　the　States　of　Connecticut　and　Massachusetts；　it　is　extremely　rare　to　find　a　man　imperfectly　acquainted　with　all　these　things；　and　a　person　wholly　ignorant　of　them　is　a　sort　of　phenomenon。

When　I　compare　the　Greek　and　Roman　republics　with　these　American　States；　the　manuscript　libraries　of　the　former；　and　their　rude　population；　with　the　innumerable　journals　and　the　enlightened　people　of　the　latter；　when　I　remember　all　the　attempts　which　are　made　to　judge　the　modern　republics　by　the　assistance　of　those　of　antiquity；　and　to　infer　what　will　happen　in　our　time　from　what　took　place　two　thousand　years　ago；　I　am　tempted　to　burn　my　books；　in　order　to　apply　none　but　novel　ideas　to　so　novel　a　condition　of　society。

What　I　have　said　of　New　England　must　not；　however；　be　applied　indistinctly　to　the　whole　Union；　as　we　advance　towards　the　West　or　the　South；　the　instruction　of　the　people　diminishes。　　In　the　States　which　are　adjacent　to　the　Gulf　of　Mexico；　a　certain　number　of　individuals　may　be　found；　as　in　our　own　countries；　who　are　devoid　of　the　rudiments　of　instruction。　　But　there　is　not　a　single　district　in　the　United　States　sunk　in　complete　ignorance；　and　for　a　very　simple　reason：　the　peoples　of　Europe　started　from　the　darkness　of　a　barbarous　condition；　to　advance　toward　the　light　of　civilization；　their　progress　has　been　unequal；　some　of　them　have　improved　apace；　whilst　others　have　loitered　in　their　course；　and　some　have　stopped；　and　are　still　sleeping　upon　the　way。　*i　

＇Footnote　i：　＇In　the　Northern　States　the　number　of　persons　destitute　of　instruction　is　inconsiderable；　the　largest　number　being　241；152　in　the　State　of　New　York　（according　to　Spaulding's　〃Handbook　of　American　Statistics〃　for　1874）；　but　in　the　South　no　less　than　1；516；339　whites　and　2；671；396　colored　persons　are　returned　as　〃illiterate。〃＇＇

Such　has　not　been　the　case　in　the　United　States。　　The　Anglo…　Americans　settled　in　a　state　of　civilization；　upon　that　territory　which　their　descendants　occupy；　they　had　not　to　begin　to　learn；　and　it　was　sufficient　for　them　not　to　forget。　　Now　the　children　of　these　same　Americans　are　the　persons　who；　year　by　year；　transport　their　dwellings　into　the　wilds；　and　with　their　dwellings　their　acquired　information　and　their　esteem　for　knowledge。　Education　has　taught　them　the　utility　of　instruction；　and　has　enabled　them　to　transmit　that　instruction　to　their　posterity。　　In　the　United　States　society　has　no　infancy；　but　it　is　born　in　man's　estate。

The　Americans　never　use　the　word　〃peasant；〃　because　they　have　no　idea　of　the　peculiar　class　which　that　term　denotes；　the　ignorance　of　more　remote　ages；　the　simplicity　of　rural　life；　and　the　rusticity　of　the　villager　have　not　been　preserved　amongst　them；　and　they　are　alike　unacquainted　with　the　virtues；　the　vices；　the　coarse　habits；　and　the　simple　graces　of　an　early　stage　of　civilization。　　At　the　extreme　borders　of　the　Confederate　States；　upon　the　confines　of　society　and　of　the　wilderness；　a　population　of　bold　adventurers　have　taken　up　their　abode；　who　pierce　the　solitudes　of　the　American　woods；　and　seek　a　country　there；　in　order　to　escape　that　poverty　which　awaited　them　in　their　native　provinces。　　As　soon　as　the　pioneer　arrives　upon　the　spot　which　is　to　serve　him　for　a　retreat；　he　fells　a　few　trees　and　builds　a　loghouse。　Nothing　can　offer　a　more　miserable　aspect　than　these　isolated　dwellings。　　The　traveller　who　approaches　one　of　them　towards　nightfall；　sees　the　flicker　of　the　hearth…flame　through　the　chinks　in　the　walls；　and　at　night；　if　the　wind　rises；　he　hears　the　roof　of　boughs　shake　to　and　fro　in　the　midst　of　the　great　forest　trees。　　Who　would　not　suppose　that　this　poor　hut　is