[5] 1822.
[6] [Our enemy is our Master.—Fables, VI, 8.—Tr.]
[7] Towards 1780 the maxim ran:
Molti averne,
Un goderne,
E cambiar spesso
Travels of Shylock [Sherlock?—Tr.].
CHAPTER L
LOVE IN THE UNITED STATES[(41)]
A free government is a government which does no harm to its citizens, but which, on the contrary, gives them security and tranquillity. But 'tis a long cry from this to happiness. That a man must find for himself; for he must be a gross creature who thinks himself perfectly happy, because he enjoys security and tranquillity. We mix these things up in Europe, especially in Italy. Accustomed as we are to governments, which do us harm, it seems to us that to be delivered from them would be supreme happiness; in this we are like invalids, worn out with the pain of our sufferings. The example of America shows us just the contrary. There government discharges its office quite well, and does harm to no one. But we have been far removed, for very many centuries, thanks to the unhappy state of Europe, from any actual experience of the kind, and now destiny, as if to disconcert and give the lie to all our philosophy, or rather to accuse it of not knowing all the elements of human nature, shows us, that just when the unhappiness of bad government is wanting to America, the Americans are wanting to themselves.
One is inclined to say that the source of sensibility is dried up in this people. They are just, they are reasonable, but they are essentially not happy.