第40章

WhenIarrivedforthefirsttimeatNewYork，bythatpartoftheAtlanticOceanwhichiscalledtheNarrows，Iwassurprisedtoperceivealongtheshore，atsomedistancefromthecity，aconsiderablenumberoflittlepalacesofwhitemarble，severalofwhichwerebuiltafterthemodelsofancientarchitecture。WhenIwentthenextdaytoinspectmorecloselythebuildingwhichhadparticularlyattractedmynotice，Ifoundthatitswallswereofwhitewashedbrick，anditscolumnsofpaintedwood。AlltheedificeswhichIhadadmiredthenightbeforewereofthesamekind。

Thesocialconditionandtheinstitutionsofdemocracyimpart，moreover，certainpeculiartendenciestoalltheimitativearts，whichitiseasytopointout。Theyfrequentlywithdrawthemfromthedelineationofthesoultofixthemexclusivelyonthatofthebody:andtheysubstitutetherepresentationofmotionandsensationforthatofsentimentandthought:inaword，theyputtherealintheplaceoftheideal。

IdoubtwhetherRaphaelstudiedtheminutestintricaciesofthemechanismofthehumanbodyasthoroughlyasthedraughtsmenofourowntime。Hedidnotattachthesameimportancetorigorousaccuracyonthispointastheydo，becauseheaspiredtosurpassnature。Hesoughttomakeofmansomethingwhichshouldbesuperiortoman，andtoembellishbeauty’sself。Davidandhisscholarswere，onthecontrary，asgoodanatomistsastheyweregoodpainters。Theywonderfullydepictedthemodelswhichtheyhadbeforetheireyes，buttheyrarelyimaginedanythingbeyondthem:theyfollowednaturewithfidelity:whilstRaphaelsoughtforsomethingbetterthannature。Theyhaveleftusanexactportraitureofman;buthedisclosesinhisworksaglimpseoftheDivinity。Thisremarkastothemanneroftreatingasubjectisnolessapplicabletothechoiceofit。ThepaintersoftheMiddleAgesgenerallysoughtfarabovethemselves，andawayfromtheirowntime，formightysubjects，whichlefttotheirimaginationanunboundedrange。Ourpaintersfrequentlyemploytheirtalentsintheexactimitationofthedetailsofprivatelife，whichtheyhavealwaysbeforetheireyes;andtheyareforevercopyingtrivialobjects，theoriginalsofwhichareonlytooabundantinnature。

ChapterXII:WhyTheAmericansRaiseSomeMonumentsSoInsignificant，AndOthersSoImportantIhavejustobserved，thatindemocraticagesmonumentsoftheartstendtobecomemorenumerousandlessimportant。Inowhastentopointouttheexceptiontothisrule。Inademocraticcommunityindividualsareverypowerless;buttheStatewhichrepresentsthemall，andcontainsthemallinitsgrasp，isverypowerful。Nowheredocitizensappearsoinsignificantasinademocraticnation;nowheredoesthenationitselfappeargreater，ordoesthemindmoreeasilytakeinawidegeneralsurveyofit。

Indemocraticcommunitiestheimaginationiscompressedwhenmenconsiderthemselves;itexpandsindefinitelywhentheythinkoftheState。Henceitisthatthesamemenwholiveonasmallscaleinnarrowdwellings，frequentlyaspiretogiganticsplendorintheerectionoftheirpublicmonuments。

TheAmericanstracedoutthecircuitofanimmensecityonthesitewhichtheyintendedtomaketheircapital，butwhich，uptothepresenttime，ishardlymoredenselypeopledthanPontoise，though，accordingtothem，itwillonedaycontainamillionofinhabitants。Theyhavealreadyrooteduptreesfortenmilesround，lesttheyshouldinterferewiththefuturecitizensofthisimaginarymetropolis。TheyhaveerectedamagnificentpalaceforCongressinthecentreofthecity，andhavegivenitthepompousnameoftheCapitol。TheseveralStatesoftheUnionareeverydayplanninganderectingforthemselvesprodigiousundertakings，whichwouldastonishtheengineersofthegreatEuropeannations。Thusdemocracynotonlyleadsmentoavastnumberofinconsiderableproductions;italsoleadsthemtoraisesomemonumentsonthelargestscale:butbetweenthesetwoextremesthereisablank。Afewscatteredremainsofenormousbuildingscanthereforeteachusnothingofthesocialconditionandtheinstitutionsofthepeoplebywhomtheywereraised。Imayadd，thoughtheremarkleadsmetostepoutofmysubject，thattheydonotmakeusbetteracquaintedwithitsgreatness，itscivilization，anditsrealprosperity。

Whensoeverapowerofanykindshallbeabletomakeawholepeopleco—operateinasingleundertaking，thatpower，withalittleknowledgeandagreatdealoftime，willsucceedinobtainingsomethingenormousfromtheco—operationofeffortssomultiplied。Butthisdoesnotleadtotheconclusionthatthepeoplewasveryhappy，veryenlightened，orevenverystrong。

TheSpaniardsfoundtheCityofMexicofullofmagnificenttemplesandvastpalaces;butthatdidnotpreventCortesfromconqueringtheMexicanEmpirewith600footsoldiersandsixteenhorses。IftheRomanshadbeenbetteracquaintedwiththelawsofhydraulics，theywouldnothaveconstructedalltheaqueductswhichsurroundtheruinsoftheircities—theywouldhavemadeabetteruseoftheirpowerandtheirwealth。Iftheyhadinventedthesteam—engine，perhapstheywouldnothaveextendedtotheextremitiesoftheirempirethoselongartificialroadswhicharecalledRomanroads。Thesethingsareatoncethesplendidmemorialsoftheirignoranceandoftheirgreatness。Apeoplewhichshouldleavenoothervestigeofitstrackthanafewleadenpipesintheearthandafewironrodsuponitssurface，mighthavebeenmorethemasterofnaturethantheRomans。

BookOne—ChaptersXIII—XV

ChapterXIII:LiteraryCharacteristicsOfDemocraticAgesWhenatravellergoesintoabookseller’sshopintheUnitedStates，andexaminestheAmericanbooksupontheshelves，thenumberofworksappearsextremelygreat;whilstthatofknownauthorsappears，onthecontrary，tobeextremelysmall。Hewillfirstmeetwithanumberofelementarytreatises，destinedtoteachtherudimentsofhumanknowledge。MostofthesebooksarewritteninEurope;theAmericansreprintthem，adaptingthemtotheirowncountry。Nextcomesanenormousquantityofreligiousworks，Bibles，sermons，edifyinganecdotes，controversialdivinity，andreportsofcharitablesocieties;lastly，appearsthelongcatalogueofpoliticalpamphlets。InAmerica，partiesdonotwritebookstocombateachothers’opinions，butpamphletswhicharecirculatedforadaywithincrediblerapidity，andthenexpire。Inthemidstofalltheseobscureproductionsofthehumanbrainaretobefoundthemoreremarkableworksofthatsmallnumberofauthors，whosenamesare，oroughttobe，knowntoEuropeans。

AlthoughAmericaisperhapsinourdaysthecivilizedcountryinwhichliteratureisleastattendedto，alargenumberofpersonsareneverthelesstobefoundtherewhotakeaninterestintheproductionsofthemind，andwhomakethem，ifnotthestudyoftheirlives，atleastthecharmoftheirleisurehours。ButEnglandsuppliesthesereaderswiththelargerportionofthebookswhichtheyrequire。AlmostallimportantEnglishbooksarerepublishedintheUnitedStates。TheliterarygeniusofGreatBritainstilldartsitsraysintotherecessesoftheforestsoftheNewWorld。Thereishardlyapioneer’shutwhichdoesnotcontainafewoddvolumesofShakespeare。I

rememberthatIreadthefeudalplayofHenryVforthefirsttimeinaloghouse。

NotonlydotheAmericansconstantlydrawuponthetreasuresofEnglishliterature，butitmaybesaidwithtruththattheyfindtheliteratureofEnglandgrowingontheirownsoil。ThelargerpartofthatsmallnumberofmenintheUnitedStateswhoareengagedinthecompositionofliteraryworksareEnglishinsubstance，andstillmoresoinform。Thustheytransportintothemidstofdemocracytheideasandliteraryfashionswhicharecurrentamongstthearistocraticnationtheyhavetakenfortheirmodel。Theypaintwithcolorsborrowedfromforeignmanners;andastheyhardlyeverrepresentthecountrytheywereborninasitreallyis，theyareseldompopularthere。ThecitizensoftheUnitedStatesarethemselvessoconvincedthatitisnotforthemthatbooksarepublished，thatbeforetheycanmakeuptheirmindsuponthemeritofoneoftheirauthors，theygenerallywaittillhisfamehasbeenratifiedinEngland，justasinpicturestheauthorofanoriginalisheldtobeentitledtojudgeofthemeritofacopy。TheinhabitantsoftheUnitedStateshavethenatpresent，properlyspeaking，noliterature。TheonlyauthorswhomIacknowledgeasAmericanarethejournalists。Theyindeedarenotgreatwriters，buttheyspeakthelanguageoftheircountrymen，andmakethemselvesheardbythem。Otherauthorsarealiens;theyaretotheAmericanswhattheimitatorsoftheGreeksandRomansweretousattherevivaloflearning—anobjectofcuriosity，notofgeneralsympathy。Theyamusethemind，buttheydonotactuponthemannersofthepeople。

Ihavealreadysaidthatthisstateofthingsisveryfarfromoriginatingindemocracyalone，andthatthecausesofitmustbesoughtforinseveralpeculiarcircumstancesindependentofthedemocraticprinciple。IftheAmericans，retainingthesamelawsandsocialcondition，hadhadadifferentorigin，andhadbeentransportedintoanothercountry，Idonotquestionthattheywouldhavehadaliterature。Evenastheynoware，Iamconvincedthattheywillultimatelyhaveone;butitscharacterwillbedifferentfromthatwhichmarkstheAmericanliteraryproductionsofourtime，andthatcharacterwillbepeculiarlyitsown。Norisitimpossibletotracethischaracterbeforehand。

Isupposeanaristocraticpeopleamongstwhomlettersarecultivated;thelaborsofthemind，aswellastheaffairsofstate，areconductedbyarulingclassinsociety。Theliteraryaswellasthepoliticalcareerisalmostentirelyconfinedtothisclass，ortothosenearesttoitinrank。Thesepremisessufficetogivemeakeytoalltherest。Whenasmallnumberofthesamemenareengagedatthesametimeuponthesameobjects，theyeasilyconcertwithoneanother，andagreeuponcertainleadingruleswhicharetogovernthemeachandall。Iftheobjectwhichattractstheattentionofthesemenisliterature，theproductionsofthemindwillsoonbesubjectedbythemtoprecisecanons，fromwhichitwillnolongerbeallowabletodepart。Ifthesemenoccupyahereditarypositioninthecountry，theywillbenaturallyinclined，notonlytoadoptacertainnumberoffixedrulesforthemselves，buttofollowthosewhichtheirforefatherslaiddownfortheirownguidance;theircodewillbeatoncestrictandtraditional。Astheyarenotnecessarilyengrossedbythecaresofdailylife—astheyhaveneverbeenso，anymorethantheirfatherswerebeforethem—

theyhavelearnedtotakeaninterest，forseveralgenerationsback，inthelaborsofthemind。Theyhavelearnedtounderstandliteratureasanart，toloveitintheendforitsownsake，andtofeelascholar—likesatisfactioninseeingmenconformtoitsr