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第78章

the origins of contemporary france-3-第78章

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rapidly down the revolutionary hill; it breaks one by one the ties

with which it is still connected to the undecided。



In a reign of eight months the Convention has alienated public opinion

entirely。 〃Almost all who have property of any kind are

conservative;〃'60' and all the conservatives are against it。 〃The

gendarmes here openly speak up against the Revolution; even up to the

revolutionary tribunal; whose judgments they loudly condemn。 All the

old soldiers detest the actual order of things。〃'61'  The volunteers

〃who come back from the army appear angry at putting the King to

death; and on that account they would flay all the Jacobins。〃'62' 

No party in the Convention escapes this universal disaffection and

growing aversion。 〃If the question of guillotining the members of the

Convention could be put to an open vote; it would be carried against

them by a majority of nineteen…twentieths;〃'63' which; in fact; is

about the proportion of electors who; through fright or disgust; keep

away from the polls。 Let the 〃Right〃 or the 〃Left〃 of the Convention

be victors or vanquished; that is a matter which concerns them; the

public at large does not enter into the discussions of its conquerors;

and no longer cares for either Gironde or 〃Mountain。〃 Its old

grievances always revive 〃against the Vergniauds; Guadets〃 and

company;'64' it does not like them; and has no confidence in them; and

will let them be crushed without helping them。 The infuriates may

expel the Thirty…Two; if they choose; and put them under lock and key。

〃There is nothing the aristocracy (meaning by this; owners of

property; merchants; bankers; the rich; and the well…to…do); desire so

much as to see them guillotined。〃'65' 'Even the inferior aristocracy

(meaning petty tradesmen and head…workmen) take no more interest in

their fate than if they were so many escaped wild beasts  。  。  。

again caught and put in their cages。〃'66' 〃Guadet; Pétion; Brissot;

would not find thirty persons in Paris who would take their part; or

even take the first step to save them。〃'67'



Apart from all this; it makes little difference whether the majority

has any preferences; its sympathies; if it has any; will never be

other than platonic。 It no longer counts for anything in either camp;

it has withdrawn from the battle…field; it is now simply the stakes of

the conflict; the prey and the booty of the winner。 For; unable or

unwilling to comply with the political system imposed on it; it is

self…condemned to utter powerlessness。  This system is the direct

government of the people by the people; with all that ensues;

permanence of the section assemblies; club debates in public; uproar

in the galleries; motions in the open air; mobs and manifestations in

the streets; nothing is less attractive and more impracticable to

civilized and busy people。 In our modern communities; work; the

family; and social intercourse absorb nearly all our time; hence; such

a system suits only the idle and rough outcasts who feel at home

there; the others refuse to enter an environment expressly set up for

singles; orphans; unskilled persons; living in lodgings; foul…mouthed;

lacking the sense of smell; with a gift of the gab; robust arms; tough

hide; solid haunches; expert in hustling; and with whom blows replace

arguments。'68'   After the September massacres; and on the opening

of the barriers; a number of proprietors and persons living on their

incomes; not alone the suspected but those who thought they might

become so; escaped from Paris; and; during the following months; the

emigration increases along with the danger。 Towards December rumor has

it that lists have been made up of former Feuillants; 〃we are assured

that during the past eight days more than fourteen thousand persons

have left the capital。〃'69' According to the report of the Minister

himself;'70' 〃many who are independent in fortune and position abandon

a city where the renewal of proscription is talked of daily。〃  〃

Grass grows in the finest streets;〃 writes a deputy; 〃while the

silence of the grave reigns in the Théba?des (isolated villas) of the

faubourg Saint…Germain。〃  As to the conservatives who remain; they

confine themselves to private life; from which it follows that; in the

political balance; those present are of no more account than the

absentees。 At the municipal elections in October; November; and

December; out of 160;000 registered voters; there are at first

144;000; then 150;000; and finally 153;000 who stay away from the

polls; these; certainly; and for a much better reason; do not show

themselves at the assemblies of their sections。 Commonly; out of three

or four thousand citizens; only fifty or sixty attend; one of these;

called a general assembly; which signifies the will of the people to

the Convention; is composed of twenty…five voters。'71'  Accordingly;

what would a sensible man; a friend of order; do in these dens of

fanatics? He stays at home; as on stormy days; he lets the shower of

words spend itself; not caring to be spattered in the gutter of

nonsense which carries off the filth of this district。



If he leaves his house at all he goes out for a walk; the same as in

old times; to indulge the tastes he had under the old régime; those of

a talkative; curious on…looker and friendly stroller; of a Parisian

safe in his well run town。  〃Yesterday evening;〃 writes a man who

feels the coming Reign of Terror; 〃I took my stand in the middle of

the right alley of the Champs…Elysées;'72' it was thronged with  who

do you think? Would you believe it; with  moderates; aristocrats;

owners of property; and very pretty women; elegantly dressed; seeking

the caresses of the balmy spring breeze! It was a charming sight。 All

were gay and smiling。  I was the only one that was not so。 。 。 I

withdrew hastily; and; on passing through the Tuileries garden; I saw

a repetition of what I had seen before; forty thousand wealthy people

scattered here and there; almost as many as Paris contains。〃  These

are evidently the sheep ready for the slaughter…house。 They no longer

think of defense; they have abandoned their posts to the sans…

culottes; 〃they refuse all civil and military functions;〃'73' they

avoid doing duty in the National Guard and instead pay their

substitutes。 In short; they withdraw from a game which; in 1789; they

desired to play without understanding it; and in which; since the end

of 1791; they have always burnt their fingers。 The cards may be handed

over to others; especially as the cards are dirty and the players

fling them in each others' faces; as for themselves they are

spectators; they have no other ambitions。  〃Leave them their old

enjoyments;'74' leave them the pleasure of going and coming throughout

the kingdom; but do not force them to take part in the war。 Subject

them to the heaviest taxation and they will not complain; nobody will

even know that they exist; while the most serious question that

disturbs them in their thoughtful days is; can one amuse one's self as

much under a republican form of government as under the ancient

régime?〃 They hope; perhaps; to escape under cover of inoffensive

neutrality。 Is it likely that the victor; whoever he is; will regard

people as enemies who are resigned to his rule before…hand? 〃A

dandy'75' alongside of me remarked; yesterday morning; 'They will not

take my arms away; for I never had any。' Alas;' I replied to him;

'don't make a boast of it; for you may find forty thousand simpletons

in Paris that would say the same thing; and; indeed; it is not at all

to the credit of Paris。'〃  Such is the blindness or self…complacency

of the city dweller who; having always lived under a good police; is

unwilling to change his habits; and is not aware that the time has

come for him to turn fighting man in his turn。



The manufacturers; the merchants and the man living on his income are

even less disposed than the independent gentleman; to give up his

private affairs for public affairs。 His business will not wait for

him; he being confined to his office; store or counting…room。 For

example; 〃the wine…dealers'76' are nearly all aristocrats in the sense

of this word at this period;〃 but 〃never were their sales so great as

during the insurrections of the people and in revolutionary days。〃

Hence the impossibility of obtaining their services in those days。

〃They are seen on their premises very active; with three or four of

their assistants;〃 and turn a deaf ear to every appeal。 〃How can we

leave when custom is so good? People must have their wants supplied。

Who will attend to them if I and the waiters should go away? 〃 

There are other causes of their weakness。 All grades in the National

Guard and all places in the municipality having been given up to the

Jacobin extremists; they have no chiefs: the Girondists are incapable

of rallying them; while Garat; the Minister; is unwilling to employ

them。 Moreover; they are divided amongst themselves; no one having any

confidence in the other; 〃it being necessary to chain them together to

have anything accomplished。〃'77' Besides this; the remembrance of

September weighs upon their spirits like a nightmare。  All this

converts people into a timid flock; ready to scamper at the slightest

alarm。  〃In the Contrat Social section;〃 says an officer of the

National Guard; 〃one…third of those who are able to defend the section

are off in the country; another third are hiding away in their houses;

and the other third dare not do anything。〃'78'  〃If; out of fifty

thousand moderates; you can collect together three thousand; I shall

be very much astonished。 And if; out of these three thousand; five

hundred only are found to agree; and have courage enough to express

their opinion; I shall be still more astonished。  The latter; for

instance; must expect to be Septemberized!〃'79'  This they know; and

hence they keep silent and bend beneath the yoke。 〃What; indeed; would

the majority of the sections do when it is demonstrated that a dozen

raving maniacs at the head of a sans…culottes section puts the other

forty…seven sections of Paris to flight? 〃  Through this desertion

of the state and themselves; they surrender in advance; and; in this

great city; as formerly in ancient Athens and Rome; we see alongside

of an immense population of subjects without any rights; a small

despotic oligarchy in itself composing the sovereign people。'80'





VI。



Composition of the party。  Its numbers and quality decline。  The

Underlings。  Idle and dissipated workmen。  The suburban rabble。 

Bandits and blackguards。  Prostitutes。  The September actors。



Not that this minority has been on the increase since the 10th of

August; quite the reverse。  On the 19th of November; 1792; its

candidate for the office of Mayor of Paris; Lhuillier; obtains only

4;896 votes。'81'  On the 18th of June; 1793; its candidate for the

command of the 

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