“The idea of equality is a by-product of the
sentiment of envy. Since it must always prove beyond human power to raise the
inferior mass to a superior stratum, apostles of equality must ever be
inferiors seeking to reduce their betters to their level. It follows that a
nation that once admits this doctrine of equality will be dragged by it to the
level, moral, intellectual and political, of its most worthless class.”
- From Scaramouche the King-Maker by Rafael Sabatini
- From Scaramouche the King-Maker by Rafael Sabatini
This quotation is sometimes said to come from
Scaramouche: a Romance of the French Revolution, but it comes from the sequel. The
two books were published in 1921 and 1931.
Rafael Sabatini, who died in 1950 so never lived to see what life in the 21st century
is like, got it
right. What he said about the lowest people trying to drag everyone down to the
lowest level is very true. It is getting worse and worse.
