This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1885 edition. Excerpt: ...political prepossessions of the judge. The impulse to side with an individual against an aggregate of citizens is both general and strong, but the fact nevertheless remains that the greatest services can confer no title on any one to break the law. It follows that the winning of the victory at Marathon could ...
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This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1885 edition. Excerpt: ...political prepossessions of the judge. The impulse to side with an individual against an aggregate of citizens is both general and strong, but the fact nevertheless remains that the greatest services can confer no title on any one to break the law. It follows that the winning of the victory at Marathon could not justify Miltiades in leading his countrymen blindfolded into ruin. It is also almost beyond dispute that levity and ingratitude are not the besetting sins of democracies generally; and the Demos of Athens might far more reasonably be charged with faults of a precisely opposite nature. Again and again the Athenians brought upon themselves grave, and in some instances irremediable, disasters, because, in spite of evidence Alleged pointing to incapacity or demerit, they refused to ingratitude witi!draw the confidence bestowed on men who had of the Athenians won for themselves a fair reputation for integrity. There were, in truth, many cases in which they retained in office from this feeling men whom it was at once their interest and duty forthwith to dismiss. But when the current of opinion in a democracy is really changed, the change is likely to be avowed in vehement tones and angry language; and such language may be taken as evidence of ingratitude, when the offender (real or supposed) is a man eminent for former services. At Athens, assuredly, the dangerous tendency was rather to an uncriticising and excessive submission to the will of the popular leaders. But it is also true that the Athenians in many instances dispta_y od a disposition to shrink from responsibility, which Athenian was by no means creditable to them; and in the tol'voidre same measure they were reluctant to take to spousibiiity themselves any blame for results to which...
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