《论美国的民主·卷二·二部·第八章·正确理解的利益》第2节
Montaigne said long ago: "Were I not to follow the straight road for its straightness, I should follow it for having found by experience that in the end it is commonly the happiest and most useful track." The doctrine of interest rightly understood is not, then, new, but amongst the Americans of our time it finds universal acceptance: it has become popular there; you may trace it at the bottom of all their actions, you will remark it in all they say. It is as often to be met with on the lips of the poor man as of the rich. In Europe the principle of interest is much grosser than it is in America, but at the same time it is less common, and especially it is less avowed; amongst us, men still constantly feign great abnegation which they no longer feel. The Americans, on the contrary, are fond of explaining almost all the actions of their lives by the principle of interest rightly understood; they show with complacency how an enlightened regard for themselves constantly prompts them to assist each other, and inclines them willingly to sacrifice a portion of their time and property to the welfare of the State. In this respect I think they frequently fail to do themselves justice; for in the United States, as well as elsewhere, people are sometimes seen to give way to those disinterested and spontaneous impulses which are natural to man; but the Americans seldom allow that they yield to emotions of this kind; they are more anxious to do honor to their philosophy than to themselves.
注释摘要
托克维尔在这里借蒙田的话引入他的核心观察，马上亮明立场：正确理解的利益原则并不新鲜，新鲜的是它在美国成了全民共识。他说你去看美国人，从最穷到最富，嘴里讲的都是这套道理。这个观察很要紧，因为他接下来就要拿欧洲来做对比，而这个对比恰恰暴露了两种社会对人性的不同处理方式。欧洲的情形在他笔下是分裂的：人们私下一样盘算利益，而且这种利益计算比美国更粗糙、更赤裸，但偏…