《论美国的民主·卷一·结语》第6节
All other nations seem to have nearly reached their natural limits, and only to be charged with the maintenance of their power; but these are still in the act of growth; all the others are stopped, or continue to advance with extreme difficulty; these are proceeding with ease and with celerity along a path to which the human eye can assign no term. The American struggles against the natural obstacles which oppose him; the adversaries of the Russian are men; the former combats the wilderness and savage life; the latter, civilization with all its weapons and its arts: the conquests of the one are therefore gained by the ploughshare; those of the other by the sword. The Anglo-American relies upon personal interest to accomplish his ends, and gives free scope to the unguided exertions and common-sense of the citizens; the Russian centres all the authority of society in a single arm: the principal instrument of the former is freedom; of the latter servitude. Their starting-point is different, and their courses are not the same; yet each of them seems to be marked out by the will of Heaven to sway the destinies of half the globe.
注释摘要
这段文字是全书的压卷之笔，托克维尔做了一个当时看来极其大胆的对照。他刚从美国的细节中退出来，站在山顶看整体轮廓，然后忽然把镜头从北美大陆拉开，把美国和俄国并列在一起，说世界上只有这两个国家还在增长，其他所有民族似乎都已经碰到了自己的天然边界，剩下的任务不过是维持既有权力。他用了一系列排比来刻画两国根本不同的扩张方式：美国人对抗的是自然障碍，是荒野和蛮荒生活…