A distinction must be drawn between tyranny and arbitrary power. Tyranny may be exercised by means of the law, and in that case it is not arbitrary; arbitrary power may be exercised for the good of the community at large, in which case it is not tyrannical. Tyranny usually employs arbitrary means, but if necessary it can rule without them.
............as long as the majority is undecided, discussion is carried on; but as soon as its decision is irrevocably pronounced, a submissive silence is observed, and the friends, as well as the opponents, of the measure unite in assenting to its propriety. The reason of this is perfectly clear; no monarchy is so absolute as to combine all the powers of society in its own hand, and to conquer all opposition with the energy of a majority which is invested with the right of making and executing the laws.
The authority of a king is purely physical, and it controls the actions of the subject without subduing his private will: but the majority possesses a power which is physical and moral at the same time: it acts upon the will as well as upon the actions of men, and it represses not only all contest but all controversy.
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