Pagina 348 di 1391

Father and son, citizen and foreigner, teacher and pupil, old and

young, are all on a level; fathers and teachers fear their sons

and pupils, and the wisdom of the young man is a match for the

elder, and the old imitate the jaunty manners of the young

because they are afraid of being thought morose. Slaves are on a

level with their masters and mistresses, and there is no

difference between men and women. Nay, the very animals in a

democratic State have a freedom which is unknown in other places.

The she-dogs are as good as their she-mistresses, and horses and

asses march along with dignity and run their noses against

anybody who comes in their way. 'That has often been my

experience.' At last the citizens become so sensitive that they

cannot endure the yoke of laws, written or unwritten; they would

have no man call himself their master. Such is the glorious

beginning of things out of which tyranny springs.