text:  That the aristocracy of power should be in advance of public opinion is not in the nature of things and should no more be imputed as a crime to them than to us not to run when we are not in a hurry: they cannot as a body move upwards because they stand so near the top that dangerous ambition is extinguished; and it is hardly to be expected that as a body they should move downwards unless they find themselves supported in their position upon the right of others in which case we have always seen that although they descend gradually they descend at last