The Social Contract - 02

If you examine carefully what happens during any public

deliberation, you will see that the general will is always for 

the common good; but often through secret divisions and tacit默许的/不言而喻的

alliances联盟 the natural disposition天性 of the assembly is eluded避开 in

favour of particular purposes. 

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Then the social body is in fact

divided into others, the members of which acquire a general

will that is good and just in respect of the new body, but unjust

and bad in respect of★关于 the whole, their membership of which

they abandon.

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Thus the most corrupt of men always keep faith to some 

kind of public commitment; and thus even brigands强盗, who

in society as a whole are virtue's enemies, have in their 

lairs巢穴 a simulacrum幻影 of virtue to which they are faithful.

There is another difficulty scarcely几乎不 less great: that of 

ensuring both public freedom and governmental authority. 

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Seek out the motives by which men, in the greater

society united by need, have been led to unite themselves more

closely in civil societies: the only one you will find is to

guarantee each member's property, life, and liberty by putting

them under the protection of all. 

But how can men be forced to defend the freedom of one of their 

number without the freedom of the rest being infringed? And how 

can provision be made for public needs without affecting the private 

property of those who are forced to contribute? 

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Whatever sophisms诡辩 are used to disguise all this, there is no 

doubt that if my will can be constrained I am no longer free, 

and that I am no longer the master of my own property if somebody 

else can touch it.

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This problem, which must have seemed insuperable不能克服的, has been

solved, like the first, by the most sublime崇高 of all human

institutions, or rather by heavenly inspiration, showing men how to 

imitate on earth the immutable不可改变的 decrees★法令 of the Divinity.

The power of the laws depends even more on their own

wisdom than on the severity of their ministers, and the will of

the public gains its greatest weight from the reason which

dictated要求/指令 it. 

For the first law of all is that laws

must be respected; rigorous punishments are a futile无效的 expedient权宜之计

that was invented by small minds, in the aim of using terror as

a replacement for the respect which they are unable to earn.

★★★

So that cruelty in punishment merely indicates that the 

number of infringements违法犯罪 is high, and when equally severe 

penalties处罚 are applied to every case, offenders罪犯 are forced to 

commit crimes in order to escape being punished for their misdeeds违法行为

Every ruler who despises轻视 his subjects国民 dishonours使蒙羞 himself, 

since he shows that he has failed to make them worthy of respect.

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Train them therefore to be men, if it is men that you wish to command; 

if you want the laws to be obeyed, make sure that they are loved,

and that men, in order to do as they ought, need only reflect

that there is something which they ought to do.

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★★Herein lay the great skill of ancient governments, in those 

far-off★遥远的 times when philosophers gave the nations their laws, 

using their authority only to render them wise and happy. 

If politicians were less blinded by ambition, they would see

how impossible it is that any institution, of whatever kind, can

function according to the spirit in which it was established,

unless it is directed by the law of duty; 

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they would realize that political authority has its main source 

of power in the citizens' hearts, and that in the maintenance of 

government nothing can replace public morality.

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For one thing, it is only men of

integrity正直/诚恳 who can administer the law; for another, it is at

bottom only people with standards who know how to obey them. 

When every particular interest

unites against the general interest, which ceases to be the

interest of anyone, public vice has greater power to disable the law

than the laws have to put down vice; and finally the corruption 

of the people and its leaders extends to the government,

however wise it may be. 

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The worst abuse of all is to obey the laws only 

in appearance, so as to infringe违反 them safely in reality.

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Soon the best laws become the most destructive: it would be

a hundred times better if they did not exist; that would at

least be a resource that would remain when every resource has

gone.