The unexamined life, said Socrates, is unfit to be lived by man. This is the virtue of liberty, and the ground on which we may best justify our belief in it, that it tolerates error in order to serve the truth. When men are brought face to face with their opponents, forced to listen and learn and mend their ideas, they cease to be children and savages and begin to live like civilized men. Then only is freedom a reality, when men may voice their opinions because they must examine their opinions.
苏格拉底曾经说过，没有经过检验的生活不是人类该有的生活。自由的好处以及我们可以对其坚信不疑的最好的根据，就在于它容忍错误是为了服务于真理。当人们不得不面对他们的反对者，倾听并了解他们的意见，而且修正自己的观点的时候，到那时，他们才不再是幼稚的儿童或野蛮人，而开始像文明人那样生活。由于必须审视自己的观点，人们才可能发表自己的观。点，只有到了这一步自由才成为现实。
The only reason for dwelling on all this is that if we are to preserve democracy we must understand its principles. And the principle which distinguishes it from all other forms of government is that in a democracy the opposition not only is tolerated as constitutional but must be maintained because it is in fact indispensable.
如此长篇大论一番的唯一理由是，如果要维护民主，我们就必须领会它的原则。区别民主和其他统治形式的原则是：在民主国家里，容许反对意见不仅是宪法规定的，而且必须予以维护，因为客观上它是不可缺少的。
The democratic system cannot be operated without effective opposition. For, in making the great experiment of governing people by consent rather than by coercion, it is not sufficient that the party in power should have a majority. It is just as necessary that the party in power should never outrage the minority. That means that it must listen to the minority and be moved by the criticisms of the minority. That means that its measures must take account of the minority's objections, and that in administering measures it must remember that the minority may become the majority.
没有有效的反对力量，民主制度是无法运作的。因为，在进行通过人民的认可而不是依靠强制手段治理一国人民的伟大试验中，掌权的一方拥有多数支持是不够的，同样必须做到的是，这一方还永远不可激怒少数人。这意味着，他们必须倾听少数人的意见，并且对他们的批评意见不能无动于衷，而要釆取行动，做出必要的反应。这就意味着，它的措施必须把少数人的反对意见考虑在内，而且在实行措施的时候，它必须牢牢记住，那少数有可能会变成多数。