The authority of government， even such as I am willing to submit to—for I will cheerfully obey those who know and can do better than I， and in many things even those who neither know nor can do so well—is still an impure one： to be strictly just， it must have the sanction and consent of the governed. It can have no pure right over my person and property but what I concede to it. The progress from an absolute to a limited monarchy， from a limited monarchy to a democracy， is a progress toward a true respect for the individual. Even the Chinese philosopher was wise enough to regard the individual as the basis of the empire. Is a democracy， such as we know it， the last improvement possible in government？ Is it not possible to take a step further towards recognizing and organizing the rights of man？ There will never be a really free and enlightened State until the State comes to recognize the individual as a higher and independent power， from which all its own power and authority are derived， and treats him accordingly. I please myself with imagining a State at last which can afford to be just to all men， and to treat the individual with respect as a neighbor； which even would not think it inconsistent with its own repose if a few were to live aloof from it， not meddling with it， nor embraced by it， who fulfilled all the duties of neighbors and fellow men. A State which bore this kind of fruit， and suffered it to drop off as fast as it ripened， would prepare the way for a still more perfect and glorious State， which I have also imagined， but not yet anywhere seen.
參考譯文
我由衷地讚同這一名言——最少管事的政府是最好的政府。我還希望看到它能被迅速而徹底地得到執行。我相信，在它執行後，其最終結果將是——最好的政府是不進行任何管理的政府。隻要人們對此有所期待，他們就會得到這樣的政府。政府充其量不過是一種權宜之計，而大部分政府通常是不明智的，甚至有時所有政府都是不明智的。公民們對設置常備軍的反對意見很多、很強烈，而且理應占主導地位，這種意見最終可能轉變為反對常設政府，因為常備軍隊隻不過是常設政府的一支胳臂。政府本身也隻不過是由人民選擇來執行他們意誌的形式，在人民來不及通過它來執行意誌之前，它同樣也很容易被濫用。請看看當前的墨西哥戰爭，它是少數人將常設政府當做工具的結果，因為一開始人民就不同意采取這種做法。