some respect masters and experts, would segregate themselves, by a process of scenting one another out and reciprocal recognition; and then from among these, such as are of the first rank in each special line would select themselves, again by reciprocal. recognition and guarantees. These last would constitute the legislative body, and thus the highest grade of specialized ability would be brought to bear on the making of laws, each branch of specialists deciding on the questions in their province, the rest being honorable and decent enough to leave things in their hands. In this way laws would be strictly the outcome of the intelligence of the most intelligent. Now parties decide things, and every time that a vote is taken there must be hundreds of bad consciences—so many are ill-instructed, or incapable of judging, and simply follow others or are dragged along. Nothing lowers the dignity of a new law so much as the blush of dishonesty to which every party vote compels. Nietzsche is aware that it is easy to propose and hard to carry out such a scheme, but he has the hope that sometime faith in the utility of science and of men who know will arise in the most unwilling and replace the present faith in numbers.[1] Besides, he argues that the system of having everybody vote depends logically on everybody's wanting to vote, the will of a majority not being sufficient to constitute a universal rule, and he doubts whether all do want to vote now, since so many do not use the privilege they have.[2] But with all his argumentation he accepts the situation as he finds it, and he realizes the ironical side of it for the old ruling classes.[3] "The poor reigning princes! All their rights are turning themselves now unexpectedly into claims, and all these claims soon sound like pretensions!"[4] King and emperor are becoming almost ciphers in ordinary times—symbols, ornaments, beautiful superfluities; though on this account they cling the more tenaciously to their dignity as war-lords—and need wars on occasion, i.e., exceptional circumstances in which the democratic pressure is interrupted.[5]
