《论美国的民主·卷二·二部·第二章·民主国家的个人主义》第2节
Amongst aristocratic nations, as families remain for centuries in the same condition, often on the same spot, all generations become as it were contemporaneous. A man almost always knows his forefathers, and respects them: he thinks he already sees his remote descendants, and he loves them. He willingly imposes duties on himself towards the former and the latter; and he will frequently sacrifice his personal gratifications to those who went before and to those who will come after him. Aristocratic institutions have, moreover, the effect of closely binding every man to several of his fellow-citizens. As the classes of an aristocratic people are strongly marked and permanent, each of them is regarded by its own members as a sort of lesser country, more tangible and more cherished than the country at large. As in aristocratic communities all the citizens occupy fixed positions, one above the other, the result is that each of them always sees a man above himself whose patronage is necessary to him, and below himself another man whose co-operation he may claim. Men living in aristocratic ages are therefore almost always closely attached to something placed out of their own sphere, and they are often disposed to forget themselves. It is true that in those ages the notion of human fellowship is faint, and that men seldom think of sacrificing themselves for mankind; but they often sacrifice themselves for other men. In democratic ages, on the contrary, when the duties of each individual to the race are much more clear, devoted service to any one man becomes more rare; the bond of human affection is extended, but it is relaxed.
注释摘要
在这一段之前，托克维尔刚刚给个人主义下了一个精当的定义：民主时代的人，倾向于从大众中抽身出来，把自己关进家庭和朋友的很小圈子里，然后便心安理得地任凭大社会自行其是。为了把这个全新的概念讲透，他立即做了一个结构上的翻转——不是继续正面剖析个人主义的种种表现，而是先折回头去，描述贵族社会中人与人联结的样式。这一段承担的功能，就是用一幅贵族时代的社会关系图景，来…