democracy in america-1-第116部分

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s　to　the　square　league。　*p　What　cause　can　prevent　the　United　States　from　having　as　numerous　a　population　in　time？　

＇Footnote　o：　The　United　States　already　extend　over　a　territory　equal　to　one…half　of　Europe。　　The　area　of　Europe　is　500；000　square　leagues；　and　its　population　205；000；000　of　inhabitants。　　（〃Malte　Brun；〃　liv。　114。　vol。　vi。　p。　4。）

＇This　computation　is　given　in　French　leagues；　which　were　in　use　when　the　author　wrote。　　Twenty　years　later；　in　1850；　the　superficial　area　of　the　United　States　had　been　extended　to　3；306；865　square　miles　of　territory；　which　is　about　the　area　of　Europe。＇＇

＇Footnote　p：　See　〃Malte　Brun；〃　liv。　116；　vol。　vi。　p。　92。＇

Many　ages　must　elapse　before　the　divers　offsets　of　the　British　race　in　America　cease　to　present　the　same　homogeneous　characteristics：　and　the　time　cannot　be　foreseen　at　which　a　permanent　inequality　of　conditions　will　be　established　in　the　New　World。　　Whatever　differences　may　arise；　from　peace　or　from　war；　from　freedom　or　oppression；　from　prosperity　or　want；　between　the　destinies　of　the　different　descendants　of　the　great　Anglo…American　family；　they　will　at　least　preserve　an　analogous　social　condition；　and　they　will　hold　in　common　the　customs　and　the　opinions　to　which　that　social　condition　has　given　birth。

In　the　Middle　Ages；　the　tie　of　religion　was　sufficiently　powerful　to　imbue　all　the　different　populations　of　Europe　with　the　same　civilization。　The　British　of　the　New　World　have　a　thousand　other　reciprocal　ties；　and　they　live　at　a　time　when　the　tendency　to　equality　is　general　amongst　mankind。　　The　Middle　Ages　were　a　period　when　everything　was　broken　up；　when　each　people；　each　province；　each　city；　and　each　family；　had　a　strong　tendency　to　maintain　its　distinct　individuality。　　At　the　present　time　an　opposite　tendency　seems　to　prevail；　and　the　nations　seem　to　be　advancing　to　unity。　　Our　means　of　intellectual　intercourse　unite　the　most　remote　parts　of　the　earth；　and　it　is　impossible　for　men　to　remain　strangers　to　each　other；　or　to　be　ignorant　of　the　events　which　are　taking　place　in　any　corner　of　the　globe。　　The　consequence　is　that　there　is　less　difference；　at　the　present　day；　between　the　Europeans　and　their　descendants　in　the　New　World；　than　there　was　between　certain　towns　in　the　thirteenth　century　which　were　only　separated　by　a　river。　If　this　tendency　to　assimilation　brings　foreign　nations　closer　to　each　other；　it　must　a　fortiori　prevent　the　descendants　of　the　same　people　from　becoming　aliens　to　each　other。

The　time　will　therefore　come　when　one　hundred　and　fifty　millions　of　men　will　be　living　in　North　America；　*q　equal　in　condition；　the　progeny　of　one　race；　owing　their　origin　to　the　same　cause；　and　preserving　the　same　civilization；　the　same　language；　the　same　religion；　the　same　habits；　the　same　manners；　and　imbued　with　the　same　opinions；　propagated　under　the　same　forms。　The　rest　is　uncertain；　but　this　is　certain；　and　it　is　a　fact　new　to　the　world　…　　a　fact　fraught　with　such　portentous　consequences　as　to　baffle　the　efforts　even　of　the　imagination。

＇Footnote　q：　This　would　be　a　population　proportionate　to　that　of　Europe；　taken　at　a　mean　rate　of　410　inhabitants　to　the　square　league。＇

There　are；　at　the　present　time；　two　great　nations　in　the　world　which　seem　to　tend　towards　the　same　end；　although　they　started　from　different　points：　I　allude　to　the　Russians　and　the　Americans。　　Both　of　them　have　grown　up　unnoticed；　and　whilst　the　attention　of　mankind　was　directed　elsewhere；　they　have　suddenly　assumed　a　most　prominent　place　amongst　the　nations；　and　the　world　learned　their　existence　and　their　greatness　at　almost　the　same　time。

All　other　nations　seem　to　have　nearly　reached　their　natural　limits；　and　only　to　be　charged　with　the　maintenance　of　their　power；　but　these　are　still　in　the　act　of　growth；　*r　all　the　others　are　stopped；　or　continue　to　advance　with　extreme　difficulty；　these　are　proceeding　with　ease　and　with　celerity　along　a　path　to　which　the　human　eye　can　assign　no　term。　　The　American　struggles　against　the　natural　obstacles　which　oppose　him；　the　adversaries　of　the　Russian　are　men；　the　former　combats　the　wilderness　and　savage　life；　the　latter；　civilization　with　all　its　weapons　and　its　arts：　the　conquests　of　the　one　are　therefore　gained　by　the　ploughshare；　those　of　the　other　by　the　sword。　The　Anglo…American　relies　upon　personal　interest　to　accomplish　his　ends；　and　gives　free　scope　to　the　unguided　exertions　and　common…sense　of　the　citizens；　the　Russian　centres　all　the　authority　of　society　in　a　single　arm：　the　principal　instrument　of　the　former　is　freedom；　of　the　latter　servitude。　Their　starting…point　is　different；　and　their　courses　are　not　the　same；　yet　each　of　them　seems　to　be　marked　out　by　the　will　of　Heaven　to　sway　the　destinies　of　half　the　globe。

＇Footnote　r：　Russia　is　the　country　in　the　Old　World　in　which　population　increases　most　rapidly　in　proportion。＇





End　of　Volume　1