20.All voters should be honest in casting their votes.A vote is not a piece of personal property，like a calf or a hog.It is，in fact，a trust for the public use.One is not voting for himself alone，but for the welfare of all the peoplefor those who cannot vote as well as for those who can.And，then，when a voter sells his vote he is guilty of shameless treachery to the republic.He is a traitor quite as truly as was Benedict Arnold in the revolutionary war.
But the one who buys the vote is no better.He also is a criminal，and a very dangerous one.
Any one who sells or buys a vote should never be allowed again tovote or hold office in our republic.
21.The Real State.The machinery of government is a mere means of the people to attain certain ends.No machinery will run of itself.No government is worth much unless honest and able men are selected to do its work.And such men never will be selected unless the people，who are the real rulers，themselves have high ideals of honesty and good government.What a famous English judge thought of this a century and more ago，and what a still more famous English judge thought three hundred years ago，it may be worth while to read.
What Constitutes a State？
①SIR WILLIAM JONES
WHAT constitutes a state？
Not highraised battlements or labored mound，Thick wall or moated gate；Not cities proud，with spires and turrets crowned；Not bays and broadarm ports，Where，laughing at the storm，rich navies ride；Not starred and spangled courts，Where lowbrowed baseness wafts perfume to pride.
①Sir William Jones，born 1746，died 1794，was a famous English scholar and jurist.
No！Men highminded men
With powers as far above dull brutes endued，In forest，brake，or den，As beasts excel cold rocks and brambles rude；Men，who their duties know，But know their rights，and，knowing，dare maintain；Prevent the longaimed blow，And crush the tyrant while they rend the chain.
These constitute a state；
And sovereign law，that state’s collected will，O‘er thrones and globes elateSits empress，crowning good，repressing ill.
The True Greatness of Nations
①LORD BACON
THE greatness of an estate，in bulk and territory，doth fall under measure；and the greatness of finance and revenue doth fall under computation.The population may appear by musters；and the number and greatness of cities and towns by cards and maps.But yet there is not anything，amongst civil affairs，more subject to error，than the right valuation and true judgment concerning the power and forces of an estate.The kingdom of heaven is compared，not to any great kernel，or nut，but to a grain of mustard seed；which is one of the least grains，but hath in it a property and spirit hastily to get up and spread.So are there states great in territory，and yet not apt to enlarge or command；and some that have but a small dimension of stem，and yet are apt to be the foundation of great monarchies.
①Lord Bacon，born 1560，died 1626，was one of the greatest writers and thinkers in the history of England.He was lord high chancellor of the kingdom，and the author of immortal works of a varied character.
Walled towns，stored arsenals and armories，goodly races of horses，chariots of war，elephants，ordnance，artillery，and the like：all this is but a sheep in a lion’s skin，except the breed and disposition of the people be stout and warlike.Nay，number itself in armies importeth not much，where the people are of weak courage；for，as Virgil saith：It never troubles the wolf how many the sheep be .The army of the Persians，in the plains of Arbela，was such a vast sea of people as it did somewhat astonish the commanders in Alexander‘s army；who came to him，therefore，and wished him to set upon them by night；but he answered，He would not pilfer the victory ；and the defeat was easy.When Tigranes，the Armenian，being encamped upon a hill with four hundred thousand men，discovered the army of the Romans，being not above fourteen thousand，marching towards him，he made himself merry with it，and said，Yonder men are too many for an embassage and too few for a fight .But，before the sun set，he found them enough to give him the chase with infinite slaughter.
22.Some of Our Advantages.Our republic has some great advantages over many other nations.
One of these is that we govern ourselves.There is no king or nobleman who inherits from his father the right to govern us.We choose our own lawmakers，and if we dislike the laws they make，we choose others in their place.If we are governed badly，we know that it is our own fault.
23.We have a good system of government.Our national Constitution was made by some of the wisest men who ever lived，and we have become used to it.It fits us，like a wellmade suit of clothes.
24.We have free speech and a free press，the right to organize parties or churches as we like，the right to assemble when and where we please for a public meeting.Many of these things are not permitted under some governments in Europe.
25.Some of Our Defects.While we have reason to love our country and to be proud of it，if we are honest we must admit that there aresome serious faults in the governmentfaults which true patriots willdo all in their power to remedy.
26.Many people who hold public office are not honest.They take advantage of every opportunity to get money for themselves；they are in politics，not for the public good，but for their private gain.They are bad servants of the people.
27.Party spirit is a bad thing.People belong to a political party，and learn to hate those who belong to any other.We vote blindly for a candidate merely because he has our party name，without stopping to inquire whether he is honest and capable or not.We are too apt to think that members of the other party are all enemies of the state.In fact，there are honest men and patriots in all parties.We ought to learn to differ in opinion without hating one another.