Now, if it is an absolute duty to obey a law, we must, at the same time, admit as a corrective, the right of criticising the law. This right is the right of the minority, and it is recognized to-day in all civilized countries. A law may, in fact, be unjust or erroneous: it may have been introduced by passion, by party-spirit; even without having been originally unjust, it may have become so in time through change in manners; it may also be the work of ignorance, prejudice, etc.; and thereby hurtful. Hence the necessity of what is called the _liberty of the press_, the inviolable guaranty of the minorities. But the right of _criticising_ the law is not the right of _insulting_ it. Discussion is not _insult_. Every law is entitled to respect because it is a law; it is the expression of the public reason, the public will, of sovereignty. One may try to _persuade_ the sovereign by reasoning, and induce him to change the law; one should not inspire _contempt_ which leads unavoidably to disobedience. =87. Respect for magistrates.=--Another duty, which is the corollary to obedience to the laws, is the _respect for the magistrate_. The magistrate--that is, the functionary, whoever he be, in charge of the execution of the laws--should be obeyed, not only because he represents force, but also because he is the expression of the law. For this reason, he should be for all an object of respect. The person is nothing; it is the authority itself that is entitled to respect, and not such or such an individual. Many ignorant persons are always disposed to regard the functionary as a tyrant, and every act of authority, an act of oppression. This is a puerile and lamentable prejudice. The greatest oppression is always that of individual passions, and the most dangerous of despotisms is anarchy: for then it is the right of the strongest which alone predominates. Authority, whatever it be, makes the maintenance of order its special interest, and order is the guaranty of every one. The magistrate is, moreover, entitled to respect, as he represents the country; if the country be a family, the authority of the magistrate should be regarded the same as that of the head of the family, an authority entitled to respect even in its errors. =88. The ballot.=--Of all the special obligations which we have enumerated, the most important to point out is that of the _ballot_, because it is free and left entirely at the will of the citizens. In regard to the other obligations, constraint may, up to a certain point, supply the good will; he who does not pay his taxes from a sense of duty, is obliged to pay them from necessity; but the ballot is free; one may vote or not vote; one may vote for whom he pleases: there is no other restraint than the sense of duty; for this reason, it is necessary to insist on this kind of obligation.