Democracy Is That Which Affords A Rule

We Have Learned To Say That The Good Must Be Extended To All Of Society Before It Can Be Held Secure By Any One Person Or Any One Class. But We Have Not Yet Learned To Add To That Statement, That Unless All [people] And All Classes Contribute To A Good, We Cannot Even Be Sure That It Is Worth Having.

Unless Our Conception Of Patriotism Is Progressive, It Cannot Hope To Embody The Real Affection And The Real Interest Of The Nation.

As The Acceptance Of Democracy Brings A Certain Life-giving Power, So It Has Its Own Sanctions And Comforts. Perhaps The Most Obvious One Is The Curious Sense Which Comes To Us From Time To Time, That We Belong To The Whole, That A Certain Basic Well Being Can Never Be Taken Away From Us Whatever The Turn Of Fortune.

We Are Thus Brought To A Conception Of Democracy Not Merely As A Sentiment Which Desires The Well-being Of All Men, Nor Yet As A Creed Which Believes In The Essential Dignity And Equality Of All Men, But As That Which Affords A Rule Of Living As Well As A Test Of Faith.

I Might Believe I Had Unusual Talent If I Did Not Know What Good Music Was; I Might Enjoy Half An Hour's Practice A Day If I Were Busy And Happy The Rest Of The Time. You Do Not Know What Life Means When All The Difficulties Are Removed! I Am Simply Smothered And Sickened With Advantages. It Is Like Eating A Sweet Dessert The First Thing In The Morning.