论民主

论民主

民主是多数的统治，但它唯有在多数人记得公共利益时才能昌盛。它许诺自由，但无纪律则成放纵；它许诺平等，但无智慧则成嫉妒。因为民意虽强，却多变：此刻加冕正义，下一刻便可能将其定罪。

民主的力量不在人数，而在信任、耐心与理性的习惯。公民若贤明，法律便坚固；公民若怠惰，法律便脆弱。民可以选其领袖，但若不加判断地选择，实则不是人统治，而是愚昧统治。

专制以武力剥夺自由；民主因疏忽而浪费自由。前者吞噬，后者溶解。然而两者相比，民主自带更新之种，因为它能自我修正。专制从未自我改革，而民主虽会绊倒，却能学习。

民主最好的保障是公民的美德。宪法不过是纸张，若人心已腐；选举不过是喧嚣，若民众无知。自由之民，必须教育其心与智，否则自由必化为混乱，而混乱终招致专制。

民主如同一面镜子：它映照的是国家本然之貌，而非自我幻想。人民若宽厚，它便光明；人民若狭隘，它便晦暗。它既是特权，也是重担——既要为自己作主，也要为自己作裁。

因此，民主当被珍视，而非被神化。它并非完美之制，却是能改之制。目的不在人民必然得胜，而在正义必然得胜。若正义通过人民得以伸张，则民主方可安固。

Of Democracy

Democracy is the rule of many, yet it prospers only when the many remember the good of all. It promises liberty, but without discipline it becomes license. It promises equality, but without wisdom it sinks into envy. For the voice of the people is mighty, but also mutable; it can crown justice one hour and condemn it the next.

The strength of democracy lies not in numbers alone, but in the habits of trust, patience, and reason. Where citizens are wise, laws are strong; but where citizens are careless, laws are weak. A people may choose their rulers, yet if they choose without judgment, they are ruled not by men but by their own folly.

Tyranny steals freedom by force; democracy may waste it by negligence. The one devours, the other dissolves. Yet of the two, democracy holds the seed of renewal, for it allows correction by its own hand. No tyranny ever reformed itself, but a democracy, though it stumble, may learn.

The best safeguard of democracy is virtue among citizens. For constitutions are but paper if men are corrupt, and elections are but noise if men are ignorant. A free people must educate both their minds and their hearts, lest freedom turn to disorder, and disorder invite despotism.

Democracy is a mirror: it shows a nation what it is, not what it dreams to be. If the people are generous, it shines; if they are mean, it tarnishes. It is both a privilege and a burden—to be one’s own master, and one’s own judge.

Therefore, let democracy be cherished, but not idolized. It is no perfect form, but it is the form that admits correction. The aim is not that the people should always prevail, but that justice should. And when justice prevails through the people, democracy is secure.

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