His very existence is so far useful that it awakens the sensation of obedience to a sort of mind in the coarse, dull, contracted multitude, who could neither appreciate nor perceive any other.
Walter Bagehot: “His very existence is so far useful that it awakens the sensation of obedience to a sort of mind in the coarse, dull…”
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Walter Bagehot
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gutenberg.orgEditor's note · Context
Bagehot suggests that the existence of certain social figures can foster a sense of obedience among the masses.
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The Parliament, the laws, the press were human institutions; but the Monarchy was a Divine institution.
We have thus a whole group of ancient republics of non-Aryan race, and one which, being more ancient than the classical republics, could not have borrowed from or imitated them.
If the above reasoning be sound, compulsory constituencies are necessary, voluntary constituencies destructive; the optional transferability of votes is not a salutary aid, but a ruinous innovation.
They are solely concerned with his attractiveness as a candidate; they need not regard his efficiency as a ruler.





