第175章

Morris， in this universal delirium， can mention to Washington but one sane mind， that of Marmontel， and Marmontel speaks in the same style as Morris. At the preliminary meetings of the clubs， and at the assemblies of electors， he is the only one who opposes unreasonable propositions. Surrounding him are none but the excited， the exalted about nothing， even to grotesqueness[54]. In every act of the established régime， in every administrative measure， "in all police regulations， in all financial decrees， in all the graduated authorities on which public order and tranquility depend， there was naught in which they did not find an aspect of tyranny. . . . On the walls and barriers of Paris being referred to， these were denounced as enclosures for deer and derogatory to man." --"I saw，" says one of these orators， "at the barrier Saint-Victor， sculptured on one of the pillars -- would you believe it？ -- an enormous lion's head， with open jaws vomiting forth chains as a menace to those who passed it. Could a more horrible emblem of slavery and of despotism be imagined！" -- "The orator himself imitates the roar of the lion. The listeners were all excited by it and I， who passed the barrier Saint-Victor so often， was surprised that this horrible image had not struck me. That very day I examined it closely and， on the pilaster， I found only a small buckler suspended as an ornament by a little chain attached by the sculptor to a little lion's mouth， like those we see serving as door-knockers or as water-cocks." -- Perverted sensations and delirious conceptions of this kind would be regarded by physicians as the symptoms of mental derangement， and we are only in the early months of the year 1789！ --In such excitable and over-excited brains the powerful fascination of words is about to create phantoms， some of them hideous， the aristocrat and the tyrant， and others adorable， the friend of the people and the incorruptible patriot， so many disproportionate， imaginary figures， but which will replace actual living persons， and which the maniac is to overwhelm with his praise or pursue with his fury.

VI. SUMMARY

Thus does the philosophy of the eighteenth century descend among the people and propagate itself. Ideas， on the first story of the house， in handsome gilded rooms， serve only as an evening illumination， as drawing room explosives and pleasing Bengal lights， with which people amuse themselves， and then laughingly throw from the windows into the street. Collected together in the story below and on the ground floor， transported to shops， to warehouses and into business cabinets， they find combustible material， piles of wood a long time accumulated， and here do the flames enkindle. The conflagration seems to have already begun， for the chimneys roar and a ruddy light gleams through the windows； but "No，" say the people above， "those below would take care not to set the house on fire， for they live in it as we do. It is only a straw bonfire and a burning chimney， and a little water will extinguish it； and， besides， these little accidents clear the chimney and burn out the soot."Take care！ Under the vast deep arches supporting it， in the cellars of the house， there is a magazine of powder.

___________________________________________________________________Notes：

[1] I have verified these sentiments myself， in the narration of aged people deceased twenty years ago. Cf. manuscript memoirs of Hardy the bookseller (analyzed by Aubertin)， and the "Travels of Arthur Young."[2] Aubertin， ibid.， 180， 362.

[3] Voltaire， "Siècle de Louis XV，" ch. XXXI； "Siècle de Louis XIV，" ch. XXX. "Industry increases every day. To see the private display， the prodigious number of pleasant dwellings erected in Paris and in the provinces， the numerous equipages， the conveniences， the acquisitions comprehended in the term luxe， one might suppose that opulence was twenty times greater than it formerly was. All this is the result of ingenuity， much more than of wealth. . . The middle class has become wealthy by industry. . . . Commercial gains have augmented. The opulence of the great is less than it was formerly and much larger among the middle class， the distance between men even being lessened by it. Formerly the inferior class had no resource but to serve their superiors； nowadays industry has opened up a thousand roads unknown a hundred years ago."[4] John Law (Edinbourgh 1672- dead in Venice 1729) Scotch financier， who founded a bank in Paris issuing paper money whose value depended upon confidence and credit. He had to flee France when his system collapsed and died in misery. (SR.)[5] Arthur Young， II. 360， 373.

[6] De Tocqueville， 255.

[7] Aubertin， 482.

[8] Roux and Buchez， "Histoire parlementaire." Extracted from the accounts made up by the comptrollers-general， I. 175， 205. - The report by Necker， I. 376. To the 206，000，000 must be added 15，800，000 for expenses and interest on advances.

[9] Compare this to the situation in year 1999 where irresponsible democratic governments sell enormous fortunes in the form of bonds to the popular pension funds， fortunes which they expect that the next generation shall repay. (SR.)[10] Roux and Buchez， I. 190. "Rapport，" M. de Calonne.

[11] Champfort， p. 105.

[12] De Tocqueville， 261.

[13] D'Argenson， April 12， 1752， February 11， 1752， July 24， 1753， December 7， 1753. - Archives nationales， O1， 738.

[14] Characters in Molière's comedies. - TR.

[15] De Ségur. I. 17.

[16] Lucas de Montigny， Letter of the Marquis de Mirabeau， March 23， 1783.

[17] Mme. Vigée-Lebrun， I. 269， 231. (The domestic establishment of two farmers-general， M. de Verdun， at Colombes， and M. de St.