Inademocraticsociety，aswellaselsewhere，thereareonlyacertainnumberofgreatfortunestobemade;andasthepathswhichleadtothemareindiscriminatelyopentoall，theprogressofallmustnecessarilybeslackened。Asthecandidatesappeartobenearlyalike，andasitisdifficulttomakeaselectionwithoutinfringingtheprincipleofequality，whichisthesupremelawofdemocraticsocieties，thefirstideawhichsuggestsitselfistomakethemalladvanceatthesamerateandsubmittothesameprobation。Thusinproportionasmenbecomemorealike，andtheprincipleofequalityismorepeaceablyanddeeplyinfusedintotheinstitutionsandmannersofthecountry，therulesofadvancementbecomemoreinflexible，advancementitselfslower，thedifficultyofarrivingquicklyatacertainheightfargreater。Fromhatredofprivilegeandfromtheembarrassmentofchoosing，allmenareatlastconstrained，whatevermaybetheirstandard，topassthesameordeal;allareindiscriminatelysubjectedtoamultitudeofpettypreliminaryexercises，inwhichtheiryouthiswastedandtheirimaginationquenched，sothattheydespairofeverfullyattainingwhatisheldouttothem;andwhenatlengththeyareinaconditiontoperformanyextraordinaryacts，thetasteforsuchthingshasforsakenthem。
InChina，wheretheequalityofconditionsisexceedinglygreatandveryancient，nomanpassesfromonepublicofficetoanotherwithoutundergoingaprobationarytrial。Thisprobationoccursafreshateverystageofhiscareer;andthenotionisnowsorootedinthemannersofthepeoplethatIremembertohavereadaChinesenovel，inwhichthehero，afternumberlesscrosses，succeedsatlengthintouchingtheheartofhismistressbytakinghonors。Aloftyambitionbreatheswithdifficultyinsuchanatmosphere。
TheremarkIapplytopoliticsextendstoeverything;
equalityeverywhereproducesthesameeffects;wherethelawsofacountrydonotregulateandretardtheadvancementofmenbypositiveenactment，competitionattainsthesameend。Inawell—establisheddemocraticcommunitygreatandrapidelevationisthereforerare;itformsanexceptiontothecommonrule;anditisthesingularityofsuchoccurrencesthatmakesmenforgethowrarelytheyhappen。Menlivingindemocraciesultimatelydiscoverthesethings;theyfindoutatlastthatthelawsoftheircountryopenaboundlessfieldofactionbeforethem，butthatnoonecanhopetohastenacrossit。Betweenthemandthefinalobjectoftheirdesires，theyperceiveamultitudeofsmallintermediateimpediments，whichmustbeslowlysurmounted:thisprospectweariesanddiscouragestheirambitionatonce。Theythereforegiveuphopessodoubtfulandremote，tosearchnearertothemselvesforlessloftyandmoreeasyenjoyments。Theirhorizonisnotboundedbythelawsbutnarrowedbythemselves。
Ihaveremarkedthatloftyambitionsaremorerareintheagesofdemocracythanintimesofaristocracy:Imayaddthatwhen，inspiteofthesenaturalobstacles，theydospringintoexistence，theircharacterisdifferent。Inaristocraciesthecareerofambitionisoftenwide，butitsboundariesaredetermined。Indemocraciesambitioncommonlyrangesinanarrowerfield，butifonceitgetsbeyondthat，hardlyanylimitscanbeassignedtoit。Asmenareindividuallyweak—astheyliveasunder，andinconstantmotion—asprecedentsareoflittleauthorityandlawsbutofshortduration，resistancetonoveltyislanguid，andthefabricofsocietyneverappearsperfectlyerectorfirmlyconsolidated。Sothat，whenonceanambitiousmanhasthepowerinhisgrasp，thereisnothinghemaynotedare;andwhenitisgonefromhim，hemeditatestheoverthrowoftheStatetoregainit。Thisgivestogreatpoliticalambitionacharacterofrevolutionaryviolence，whichitseldomexhibitstoanequaldegreeinaristocraticcommunities。Thecommonaspectofdemocraticnationswillpresentagreatnumberofsmallandveryrationalobjectsofambition，fromamongstwhichafewill—controlleddesiresofalargergrowthwillatintervalsbreakout:butnosuchathingasambitionconceivedandcontrivedonavastscaleistobemetwiththere。