Now, I do not think he will have this _good sense_ any more than a drunkard will have strong nerves, unless he be in the constant habit of keeping his mind clear from the intoxication of envy, vanity, and the various emotions that dupe and mislead us.

Good sense is not, therefore, an abstract quality or a solitary talent; but it is the natural result of the habit of thinking justly, and therefore seeing clearly, and is as different from the sagacity that belongs to a diplomatist or attorney, as the philosophy of Socrates differed from the rhetoric of Gorgias.

As a mass of individual excellences make up this attribute in a man, so a mass of such men thus characterised give a character to a nation.

Your England is, therefore, renowned for its good sense, but it is renowned also for the excellences which accompany strong sense in an individual--high honesty and faith in its dealings, a warm love of justice and fair play, a general freedom from the violent crimes common on the Continent, and the energetic perseverance in enterprise once commenced, which results from a bold and healthful disposition." "Our wars, our debt--" began Maltravers.
"Pardon me," interrupted De Montaigne, "I am speaking of your people, not of your government.

A government is often a very unfair representative of a nation.