Men think they think upon great political questions, and they do; but they think with their party, not independently; they read its literature, but not that of the other side; they arrive at convictions, but they are drawn from a partial view of the matter in hand and are of no particular value. They swarm with their party, they feel with their party, they are happy in their party’s approval; and where the party leads they will follow, whether for right and honor, or through blood and dirt and a mush of mutilated morals.
In our late canvass half of the nation passionately believed that in silver lay salvation, the other half as passionately believed that that way lay destruction. Do you believe that a tenth part of the people, on either side, had any rational excuse for having an opinion about the matter at all? I studied that mighty question to the bottom--came out empty. Half of our people passionately believe in high tariff, the other half believe otherwise. Does this mean study and examination, or only feeling? The latter, I think. I have deeply studied that question, too--and didn’t arrive. We all do no end of feeling, and we mistake it for thinking. And out of it we get an aggregation which we consider a boon. Its name is Public Opinion. It is held in reverence. It settles everything. Some think it the Voice of God.
THE END
Transcriber’s Note
Errors deemed most likely to be the printer’s have been corrected, and are noted here. The references are to the page and line in the original.
| [ix.22] | did not waste his chances[.] | Added. |
| [ix.24] | on the list of Americ[n/a]n authors | Replaced. |
| [8.10] | and yet wi[ll/th] all that silence | Replaced. |
| [10.14] | the col[l]ossal myths of history | Removed. |
| [47.14] | They all sat in a c[ri/ir]cle | Transposed. |
| [71.13] | he wrote [i/a]t once to the Emperor | Replaced. |
| [97.7] | men’s conception of the D[ie/ei]ty | Transposed. |
| [108.24] | in his bay window![”] | Added. |
| [122.20] | breezes would quiver the fo[il/li]age | Transposed. |
| [209.15] | most lavishly u[n/p]holstered | Replaced. |
| [217.27] | [“]Il y a une ascenseur,” | Added. |
| [260.12] | The Ka[si/is]er’s claim was paid | Transposed. |
| [268.13] | our war work and our her[io/oi]sms | Transposed. |
| [275.21] | [“]I deny emphatically | Added. |
| [277.28] | Christian virtues[:/.] | Replaced. |
| [303.3] | the[m/n] moved them to fall | Replaced. |
| [401.9] | i[s/t] is admired | Replaced. |