第41章

Theprincipleofequalitynecessarilyintroducesseveralotherchangesintolanguage。Inaristocraticages，wheneachnationtendstostandalooffromallothersandlikestohavedistinctcharacteristicsofitsown，itoftenhappensthatseveralpeopleswhichhaveacommonoriginbecomeneverthelessestrangedfromeachother，sothat，withoutceasingtounderstandthesamelanguage，theynolongerallspeakitinthesamemanner。Intheseageseachnationisdividedintoacertainnumberofclasses，whichseebutlittleofeachother，anddonotintermingle。Eachoftheseclassescontracts，andinvariablyretains，habitsofmindpeculiartoitself，andadoptsbychoicecertainwordsandcertainterms，whichafterwardspassfromgenerationtogeneration，liketheirestates。Thesameidiomthencomprisesalanguageofthepoorandalanguageoftherich—alanguageofthecitizenandalanguageofthenobility—alearnedlanguageandavulgarone。Thedeeperthedivisions，andthemoreimpassablethebarriersofsocietybecome，themoremustthisbethecase。Iwouldlayawager，thatamongstthecastesofIndiathereareamazingvariationsoflanguage，andthatthereisalmostasmuchdifferencebetweenthelanguageofthepariahandthatoftheBrahminasthereisintheirdress。When，onthecontrary，men，beingnolongerrestrainedbyranks，meetontermsofconstantintercourse—whencastesaredestroyed，andtheclassesofsocietyarerecruitedandintermixedwitheachother，allthewordsofalanguagearemingled。Thosewhichareunsuitabletothegreaternumberperish;theremainderformacommonstore，whenceeveryonechoosesprettynearlyatrandom。

AlmostallthedifferentdialectswhichdividedtheidiomsofEuropeannationsaremanifestlydeclining;thereisnopatoisintheNewWorld，anditisdisappearingeverydayfromtheoldcountries。

Theinfluenceofthisrevolutioninsocialconditionsisasmuchfeltinstyleasitisinphraseology。Notonlydoeseveryoneusethesamewords，butahabitspringsupofusingthemwithoutdiscrimination。Theruleswhichstylehadsetuparealmostabolished:thelineceasestobedrawnbetweenexpressionswhichseembytheirverynaturevulgar，andotherwhichappeartoberefined。Personsspringingfromdifferentranksofsocietycarrythetermsandexpressionstheyareaccustomedtousewiththem，intowhatevercircumstancestheymaypass;thustheoriginofwordsislostliketheoriginofindividuals，andthereisasmuchconfusioninlanguageasthereisinsociety。

Iamawarethatintheclassificationofwordsthereareruleswhichdonotbelongtooneformofsocietyanymorethantoanother，butwhicharederivedfromthenatureofthings。Someexpressionsandphrasesarevulgar，becausetheideastheyaremeanttoexpressarelowinthemselves;othersareofahighercharacter，becausetheobjectstheyareintendedtodesignatearenaturallyelevated。Nointermixtureofrankswillevereffacethesedifferences。Buttheprincipleofequalitycannotfailtorootoutwhateverismerelyconventionalandarbitraryintheformsofthought。PerhapsthenecessaryclassificationwhichI

pointedoutinthelastsentencewillalwaysbelessrespectedbyademocraticpeoplethanbyanyother，becauseamongstsuchapeopletherearenomenwhoarepermanentlydisposedbyeducation，culture，andleisuretostudythenaturallawsoflanguage，andwhocausethoselawstoberespectedbytheirownobservanceofthem。

Ishallnotquitthistopicwithouttouchingonafeatureofdemocraticlanguages，whichisperhapsmorecharacteristicofthemthananyother。Ithasalreadybeenshownthatdemocraticnationshaveataste，andsometimesapassion，forgeneralideas，andthatthisarisesfromtheirpeculiarmeritsanddefects。

Thislikingforgeneralideasisdisplayedindemocraticlanguagesbythecontinualuseofgenerictermsorabstractexpressions，andbythemannerinwhichtheyareemployed。Thisisthegreatmeritandthegreatimperfectionoftheselanguages。

Democraticnationsarepassionatelyaddictedtogenerictermsorabstractexpressions，becausethesemodesofspeechenlargethought，andassisttheoperationsofthemindbyenablingittoincludeseveralobjectsinasmallcompass。AFrenchdemocraticwriterwillbeapttosaycapacitesintheabstractformenofcapacity，andwithoutparticularizingtheobjectstowhichtheircapacityisapplied:hewilltalkaboutactualitestodesignateinonewordthethingspassingbeforehiseyesattheinstant;

andhewillcomprehendunderthetermeventualiteswhatevermayhappenintheuniverse，datingfromthemomentatwhichhespeaks。Democraticwritersareperpetuallycoiningwordsofthiskind，inwhichtheysublimateintofurtherabstractiontheabstracttermsofthelanguage。Nay，more，torendertheirmodeofspeechmoresuccinct，theypersonifythesubjectoftheseabstractterms，andmakeitactlikearealentity。ThustheywouldsayinFrench，"Laforcedeschosesveutquelescapacitesgouvernent。"

IcannotbetterillustratewhatImeanthanbymyownexample。Ihavefrequentlyusedtheword"equality"inanabsolutesense—nay，Ihavepersonifiedequalityinseveralplaces;thusIhavesaidthatequalitydoessuchandsuchthings，orrefrainsfromdoingothers。ItmaybeaffirmedthatthewritersoftheageofLouisXIVwouldnothaveusedtheseexpressions:theywouldneverhavethoughtofusingtheword"equality"withoutapplyingittosomeparticularobject;andtheywouldratherhaverenouncedthetermaltogetherthanhaveconsentedtomakealivingpersonageofit。

Theseabstracttermswhichaboundindemocraticlanguages，andwhichareusedoneveryoccasionwithoutattachingthemtoanyparticularfact，enlargeandobscurethethoughtstheyareintendedtoconvey;theyrenderthemodeofspeechmoresuccinct，andtheideacontainedinitlessclear。Butwithregardtolanguage，democraticnationspreferobscuritytolabor。Iknownotindeedwhetherthisloosestylehasnotsomesecretcharmforthosewhospeakandwriteamongstthesenations。Asthemenwholivetherearefrequentlylefttotheeffortsoftheirindividualpowersofmind，theyarealmostalwaysapreytodoubt;andastheirsituationinlifeisforeverchanging，theyareneverheldfasttoanyoftheiropinionsbythecertaintenureoftheirfortunes。Menlivingindemocraticcountriesare，then，apttoentertainunsettledideas，andtheyrequirelooseexpressionstoconveythem。Astheyneverknowwhethertheideatheyexpressto—daywillbeappropriatetothenewpositiontheymayoccupyto—morrow，theynaturallyacquirealikingforabstractterms。

Anabstracttermislikeaboxwithafalsebottom:youmayputinitwhatideasyouplease，andtakethemoutagainwithoutbeingobserved。

Amongstallnations，genericandabstracttermsformthebasisoflanguage。Idonot，therefore，affecttoexpelthesetermsfromdemocraticlanguages;Isimplyremarkthatmenhaveanespecialtendency，intheagesofdemocracy，tomultiplywordsofthiskind—totakethemalwaysbythemselvesintheirmostabstractacceptation，andtousethemonalloccasions，evenwhenthenatureofthediscoursedoesnotrequirethem。

ChapterXVII:OfSomeOfTheSourcesOfPoetryAmongstDemocraticNationsVariousdifferentsignificationshavebeengiventotheword"poetry。"ItwouldwearymyreadersifIweretoleadthemintoadiscussionastowhichofthesedefinitionsoughttobeselected:

IprefertellingthematoncethatwhichIhavechosen。Inmyopinion，poetryisthesearchandthedelineationoftheideal。

Thepoetishewho，bysuppressingapartofwhatexists，byaddingsomeimaginarytouchestothepicture，andbycombiningcertainrealcircumstances，butwhichdonotinfactconcurrentlyhappen，completesandextendstheworkofnature。Thustheobjectofpoetryisnottorepresentwhatistrue，buttoadornit，andtopresenttothemindsomeloftierimagery。Verse，regardedastheidealbeautyoflanguage，maybeeminentlypoetical;butversedoesnot，ofitself，constitutepoetry。

Inowproceedtoinquirewhether，amongsttheactions，thesentiments，andtheopinionsofdemocraticnations，thereareanywhichleadtoaconceptionofidealbeauty，andwhichmayforthisreasonbeconsideredasnaturalsourcesofpoetry。Itmustinthefirstplace，beacknowledgedthatthetasteforidealbeauty，andthepleasurederivedfromtheexpressionofit，areneversointenseorsodiffusedamongstademocraticasamongstanaristocraticpeople。Inaristocraticnationsitsometimeshappensthatthebodygoesontoactasitwerespontaneously，whilstthehigherfacultiesareboundandburdenedbyrepose。

Amongstthesenationsthepeoplewillveryoftendisplaypoetictastes，andsometimesallowtheirfancytorangebeyondandabovewhatsurroundsthem。Butindemocraciestheloveofphysicalgratification，thenotionofbetteringone’scondition，theexcitementofcompetition，thecharmofanticipatedsuccess，aresomanyspurstourgemenonwardsintheactiveprofessionstheyhaveembraced，withoutallowingthemtodeviateforaninstantfromthetrack。Themainstressofthefacultiesistothispoint。Theimaginationisnotextinct;butitschieffunctionistodevisewhatmaybeuseful，andtorepresentwhatisreal。

Theprincipleofequalitynotonlydivertsmenfromthedescriptionofidealbeauty—italsodiminishesthenumberofobjectstobedescribed。Aristocracy，bymaintainingsocietyinafixedposition，isfavorabletothesolidityanddurationofpositivereligions，aswellastothestabilityofpoliticalinstitutions。Itnotonlykeepsthehumanmindwithinacertainsphereofbelief，butitpredisposesthemindtoadoptonefaithratherthananother。AnaristocraticpeoplewillalwaysbepronetoplaceintermediatepowersbetweenGodandman。Inthisrespectitmaybesaidthatthearistocraticelementisfavorabletopoetry。Whentheuniverseispeopledwithsupernaturalcreatures，notpalpabletothesensesbutdiscoveredbythemind，theimaginationrangesfreely，andpoets，findingathousandsubjectstodelineate，alsofindacountlessaudiencetotakeaninterestintheirproductions。Indemocraticagesitsometimeshappens，onthecontrary，thatmenareasmuchafloatinmattersofbeliefastheyareintheirlaws。Scepticismthendrawstheimaginationofpoetsbacktoearth，andconfinesthemtotherealandvisibleworld。Evenwhentheprincipleofequalitydoesnotdisturbreligiousbelief，ittendstosimplifyit，andtodivertattentionfromsecondaryagents，tofixitprincipallyontheSupremePower。Aristocracynaturallyleadsthehumanmindtothecontemplationofthepast，andfixesitthere。Democracy，onthecontrary，givesmenasortofinstinctivedistasteforwhatisancient。Inthisrespectaristocracyisfarmorefavorabletopoetry;forthingscommonlygrowlargerandmoreobscureastheyaremoreremote;andforthistwofoldreasontheyarebettersuitedtothedelineationoftheideal。

Afterhavingdeprivedpoetryofthepast，theprincipleofequalityrobsitinpartofthepresent。Amongstaristocraticnationsthereareacertainnumberofprivilegedpersonages，whosesituationis，asitwer