The Spirit of Imitation Is Not Fit To Serve as a Good Guide
We would not have so much faith in English institutions if political
knowledge and understanding were better established and more widely
disseminated among us. In this respect, the French nation consists of men
who are either too young or too old. The two ages, which are so close in
many ways are also similar in this respect: namely, that neither the one
nor the other is able to be guided by anything other than example. The
young seek to imitate; the old can do no more than repeat. The latter are
true to their own habits; the former mimic the habits of others. That is as
much as they can achieve by relying on their own aptitudes and industry.
It should not be surprising, therefore, to see a nation, having barely
opened its own eyes to the light, turn towards the English Constitution
and want to take it as a model in everything. It would be highly desirable
at this particular time for an able writer to enlighten us by addressing the
following two questions: Is the British Constitution good in itself? Even
if it is good in itself, is it likely to be good for France