[clxii. 168]

1820 May 23

Emancipation Spanish

' 7 Rulers gainers

'. 4. Factitious dignity

Every man possessed of a title is the author of injury to every man /untitled man/ who but for the title would have obtained more respect that the titled man would have obtained /may behold a/ the titled man is the author of injury, one who robs him of his due.

Whatever good is done by titles, that and more can be done and is done much better without titles

Take away titles every man is judged of according to his works. Establish titles /Suffer titles to arise/ Keep titles on foot every man is judged of according to his title.

With the single exception of the military class (the naval included) under a government maintained /supported/ by corruption, a title instead of being /so far from being good/ evidence of meritorious service is as far as it is evidence of any thing evidence of ill-desert, of ill desert exemplified /manifested/ // exercised[?]// by subserviency in some shape or other to the system of misrule: of some act or acts by which the sacrifice of universal to particular and sinister interest is in some way or other facilitated[?] and /or/ encreased.

Suppose even that real service - service really meritorious[?] really conducive to the public interest has been rendered by every individual by whom the title in question is possessed /borne/. Even in this case it does more harm than good: it places the least meritorious on a level with the most meritorious. Though /While/ as between the persons possessed of it it establishes a distinction such as it is, with reference to all those who are not possessed of it, yet as between one and another of those who are possessed of it, it obliterates all distinctions

When thus judged according to his works, the judgment given is given in the way of universal suffrage; and this with that genuiness which can not have place without secresy of suffrage.

When the judgment is thus given according to his works, in this case to the utmost benefit which such a certificate can confer, nothing but correspondent publicity is wanting. In a state of society in which no signs of thought but those evanescent ones called words

spoken, are in use, this publicity is proportionably limited: from the invention and use of writing it receives encrease from the invention of printing it receives the maximum of increase, with no other deduction than [...?] such as in each creation /use/ by the government of the country made from it by the restraints imposed on the liberty of the press.