The True Natural Check On Absolute Democracy

At All Times Sincere Friends Of Freedom Have Been Rare, And Its Triumphs Have Been Due To Minorities, That Have Prevailed By Associating Themselves With Auxiliaries Whose Objects Often Differed From Their Own; And This Association, Which Is Always Dangerous, Has Sometimes Been Disastrous.

Government By Idea Tends To Take In Everything, To Make The Whole Of Society Obedient To The Idea. Spaces Not So Governed Are Unconquered, Beyond The Border, Unconverted, A Future Danger.

A Convinced Man Differs From A Prejudiced Man As An Honest Man From A Liar.

When The Last Of The Reformers Died, Religion, Instead Of Emancipating The Nations, Had Become An Excuse For The Criminal Art Of Despots. Calvin Preached, And Bellarmine Lectured; But Machiavelli Reigned.

The Fate Of Every Democracy, Of Every Government Based On The Sovereignty Of The People, Depends On The Choices It Makes Between These Opposite Principles, Absolute Power On The One Hand, And On The Other The Restraints Of Legality And The Authority Of Tradition.