For example, the one we have tried has never satisfied us; we have during eighty years demolished it thirteen times, each time setting it up anew, and always in vain, for never have we found one that suited us.

If other nations have been more fortunate, or if various political structures abroad have proved stable and enduring, it is because these have been erected in a special way.

Founded on some primitive, massive pile, supported by an old central edifice, often restored but always preserved, gradually enlarged, and, after numerous trials and additions, they have been adapted to the wants of its occupants.

It is well to admit, perhaps, that there is no other way of erecting a permanent building.

Never has one been put up instantaneously, after an entirely new design, and according to the measurements of pure Reason.