WhenIrefusetoobeyanunjustlaw，Idonotcontesttherightwhichthemajorityhasofcommanding，butIsimplyappealfromthesovereigntyofthepeopletothesovereigntyofmankind。
Ithasbeenassertedthatapeoplecanneverentirelyoutsteptheboundariesofjusticeandofreasoninthoseaffairswhicharemorepeculiarlyitsown，andthatconsequently，fullpowermayfearlesslybegiventothemajoritybywhichitisrepresented。
Butthislanguageisthatofaslave。
Amajoritytakencollectivelymayberegardedasabeingwhoseopinions，andmostfrequentlywhoseinterests，areopposedtothoseofanotherbeing，whichisstyledaminority。Ifitbeadmittedthataman，possessingabsolutepower，maymisusethatpowerbywronginghisadversaries，whyshouldamajoritynotbeliabletothesamereproach？Menarenotapttochangetheircharactersbyagglomeration;nordoestheirpatienceinthepresenceofobstaclesincreasewiththeconsciousnessoftheirstrength。*cAndforthesereasonsIcanneverwillinglyinvestanynumberofmyfellow—creatureswiththatunlimitedauthoritywhichIshouldrefusetoanyoneofthem。
[Footnotec:Noonewillassertthatapeoplecannotforciblywronganotherpeople;butpartiesmaybelookeduponaslessernationswithinagreaterone，andtheyarealienstoeachother: