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the ancien regime-第8章

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social order; there is an order which is best supported by a

religion which is adverse to free thought; free speech; free

conscience; free communion between man and God。  The more enervating

the superstition; the more exacting and tyrannous its priesthood;

the more it will do our work; if we help it to do its own。  If it

permit us to enslave the body; we will permit it to enslave the

soul。〃



And so may be inaugurated a period of that organised anarchy of

which the poet says:





It is not life; but death; when nothing stirs。







LECTURE IICENTRALISATION







The degradation of the European nobility caused; of course; the

increase of the kingly power; and opened the way to central

despotisms。  The bourgeoisie; the commercial middle class; whatever

were its virtues; its value; its real courage; were never able to

stand alone against the kings。  Their capital; being invested in

trade; was necessarily subject to such sudden dangers from war;

political change; bad seasons; and so forth; that its holders;

however individually brave; were timid as a class。  They could never

hold out on strike against the governments; and had to submit to the

powers that were; whatever they were; under penalty of ruin。



But on the Continent; and especially in France and Germany; unable

to strengthen itself by intermarriage with the noblesse; they

retained that timidity which is the fruit of the insecurity of

trade; and had to submit to a more and more centralised despotism;

and grow up as they could; in the face of exasperating hindrances to

wealth; to education; to the possession; in many parts of France; of

large landed estates; leaving the noblesse to decay in isolated

uselessness and weakness; and in many cases debt and poverty。



The systemor rather anarchyaccording to which France was

governed during this transitional period; may be read in that work

of M。 de Tocqueville's which I have already quoted; and which is

accessible to all classes; through Mr。 H。 Reeve's excellent

translation。  Every student of history is; of course; well

acquainted with that book。  But as there is reason to fear; from

language which is becoming once more too common; both in speech and

writing; that the general public either do not know it; or have not

understood it; I shall take the liberty of quoting from it somewhat

largely。  I am justified in so doing by the fact that M。 de

Tocqueville's book is founded on researches into the French

Archives; which have been made (as far as I am aware) only by him;

and contains innumerable significant facts; which are to be found

(as far as I am aware) in no other accessible work。



The French peoplesays M。 de Tocquevillemade; in 1789; the

greatest effort which was ever made by any nation to cut; so to

speak; their destiny in halves; and to separate by an abyss that

which they had heretofore been; from that which they sought to

become hereafter。  But he had long thought that they had succeeded

in this singular attempt much less than was supposed abroad; and

less than they had at first supposed themselves。  He was convinced

that they had unconsciously retained; from the former state of

society; most of the sentiments; the habits; and even the opinions;

by means of which they had effected the destruction of that state of

things; and that; without intending it; they had used its remains to

rebuild the edifice of modern society。  This is his thesis; and this

he proves; it seems to me; incontestably by documentary evidence。

Not only does he find habits which we supposeor supposed till

latelyto have died with the eighteenth century; still living and

working; at least in France; in the nineteenth; but the new opinions

which we look on usually as the special children of the nineteenth

century; he shows to have been born in the eighteenth。  France; he

considers; is still at heart what the Ancien Regime made her。



He shows that the hatred of the ruling caste; the intense

determination to gain and keep equality; even at the expense of

liberty; had been long growing up; under those influences of which I

spoke in my first lecture。



He shows; moreover; that the acquiescence in a centralised

administration; the expectation that the government should do

everything for the people; and nothing for themselves; the

consequent loss of local liberties; local peculiarities; the

helplessness of the towns and the parishes:  and all which issued in

making Paris France; and subjecting the whole of a vast country to

the arbitrary dictates of a knot of despots in the capital; was not

the fruit of the Revolution; but of the Ancien Regime which preceded

it; and that Robespierre and his 〃Comite de Salut Public;〃 and

commissioners sent forth to the four winds of heaven in bonnet rouge

and carmagnole complete; to build up and pull down; according to

their wicked will; were only handling; somewhat more roughly; the

same wires which had been handled for several generations by the

Comptroller…General and Council of State; with their provincial

intendants。



〃Do you know;〃 said Law to the Marquis d'Argenson; 〃that this

kingdom of France is governed by thirty intendants?  You have

neither parliament; nor estates; nor governors。  It is upon thirty

masters of request; despatched into the provinces; that their evil

or their good; their fertility or their sterility; entirely depend。〃



To do everything for the people; and let them do nothing for

themselvesthis was the Ancien Regime。  To be more wise and more

loving than Almighty God; who certainly does not do everything for

the sons of men; but forces them to labour for themselves by bitter

need; and after a most Spartan mode of education; who allows them to

burn their hands as often as they are foolish enough to put them

into the fire; and to be filled with the fruits of their own folly;

even though the folly be one of necessary ignorance; treating them

with that seeming neglect which is after all the most provident

care; because by it alone can men be trained to experience; self…

help; science; true humanity; and so become not tolerably harmless

dolls; but men and women worthy of the name; with





The reason firm; the temperate will;

Endurance; foresight; strength; and skill;

The perfect spirit; nobly planned

To cheer; to counsel; and command。





Such seems to be the education and government appointed for man by

the voluntatem Dei in rebus revelatum; and the education; therefore;

which the man of science will accept and carry out。  But the men of

the Ancien Regimein as far as it was a Regime at alltried to be

wiser than the Almighty。  Why not?  They were not the first; nor

will be the last; by many who have made the same attempt。  So this

Council of State settled arbitrarily; not only taxes; and militia;

and roads; but anything and everything。  Its members meddled; with

their whole hearts and minds。  They tried to teach agriculture by

schools and pamphlets and prizes; they sent out plans for every

public work。  A town could not establish an octroi; levy a rate;

mortgage; sell; sue; farm; or administer their property; without an

order in council。  The Government ordered public rejoicings; saw to

the firing of salutes; and illuminating of housesin one case

mentioned by M。 de Tocqueville; they fined a member of the burgher

guard for absenting himself from a Te Deum。  All self…government was

gone。  A country parish was; says Turgot; nothing but 〃an assemblage

of cabins; and of inhabitants as passive as the cabins they dwelt

in。〃  Without an order of council; the parish could not mend the

steeple after a storm; or repair the parsonage gable。  If they

grumbled at the intendant; he threw some of the chief persons into

prison; and made the parish pay the expenses of the horse patrol;

which formed the arbitrary police of France。  Everywhere was

meddling。  There were reports on statisticscircumstantial;

inaccurate; and uselessas statistics are too often wont to be。

Sometimes; when the people were starving; the Government sent down

charitable donations to certain parishes; on condition that the

inhabitants should raise a sum on their part。  When the sum offered

was sufficient; the Comptroller…General wrote on the margin; when he

returned the report to the intendant; 〃Goodexpress satisfaction。〃

If it was more than sufficient; he wrote; 〃Goodexpress

satisfaction and sensibility。〃  There is nothing new under the sun。

In 1761; the Government; jealous enough of newspapers; determined to

start one for itself; and for that purpose took under its tutelage

the Gazette de France。  So the public newsmongers were of course to

be the provincial intendants; and their sub…newsmongers; of course;

the sub…delegates。



But alas! the poor sub…delegates seem to have found either very

little news; or very little which it was politic to publish。  One

reports that a smuggler of salt has been hung; and
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