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?