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the origins of contemporary france-4-第138章

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being eminent intellects of the highest culture and noblest character;

embracing the greatest historical names of the French magistracy; …

Etienne Pasquier; Lefèvre d'Ormesson; Molé de Champlatreux; De

Lamoignon; de Malesherbes; … are sent to the guillotine'155' by the

judges and juries familiar to us; assassins or brutes who do not take

the trouble; or who have not the capacity; to give proper color to

their sentences。  M。 de Malesherbes exclaims; after reading his

indictment; 〃 If that were only common…sense!〃 … In effect those who

pronounce judgment are; by their own admission; 〃substantial jurymen;

good sans…culottes; natural people。〃 And such a nature! One of these;

Trenchard; an Auvergnat carpenter; portrays himself accurately in the

following note addressed to his wife before the trial comes on:



〃If you are not alone; and the companion can work; you may come; my

dear; and see the twenty…four gentlemen condemned; all of them former

presidents or councillors in the parliaments of Toulouse and Paris。  I

recommend you to bring something along with you (to eat); it will be

three hours before we finish。  I embrace you; my dear friend and

wife。〃'156'



In the same court; Lavoisier; the founder and organizer of chemistry;

the great discoverer; and condemned to death; asks for a reprieve of

his sentence for a fortnight to complete an experiment; and the

president; Coffinhal; another Auvergnat; replies;



 〃The Republic has no need of savants。〃'157'



 And it has no need of poets。  The first poet of the epoch; André

Chénier; the delicate and superior artist who reopens antique sources

of inspiration and starts the modern current; is guillotined; we

possess the original manuscript indictment of his examination; a

veritable master…piece of gibberish and barbarism; of which a full

copy is necessary to convey an idea of its 〃turpitudes of sense and

orthography。〃'158' The reader may there see; if he pleases; a man of

genius delivered up to brutes; coarse; angry; despotic animals; who

listen to nothing; who comprehend nothing; who do not even understand

terms in common use; who stumble through their queries; and who; to

ape intelligence; draggle their pens along in supreme stupidity。



The overthrow is complete。  France; subject to the Revolutionary

Government; resembles a human being forced to walk with his head down

and to think with his feet。

_____________________________________________________________________



Notes:





'1' Cf。  〃The Revolution;〃 book I。; ch。  3; and book III。; chs。 9 and

10。



'2' Grégoire; 〃 Memoires;〃 II。; 172。  〃About eighteen thousand

ecclesiastics are enumerated among the émigrés of the first epoch。

About eighteen thousand more took themselves off; or were sent off;

after the 2nd of September。〃



'3' Ibid。; 26。  〃The chief of the émigré bureau in the police

department (May 9; 1805) enumerates about two hundred thousand persons

reached; or affected; by the laws concerning emigration。〃 … Lally…

Tolendal; 〃Défense des Emigrés;〃 (2nd part; p。  62 and passim)。

Several thousand persons inscribed as émigrés did not leave France。

The local administration recorded them on its lists either because

they lived in another department; and could not obtain the numerous

certificates exacted by the law in proof of residence; or because

those who made up the lists treated these certificates with contempt。

It was found convenient to manufacture an émigré in order to

confiscate his possessions legally; and even to guillotine him; not

less legally; as a returned émigré。  … Message of the Directory to the

〃Five Hundred;〃 Vent?se 3; year V。: 〃According to a rough estimate;

obtained at the Ministry of Finances; the number enrolled on the

general list of émigres amounts to over one hundred and twenty

thousand; and; again; the lists from some of the departments have not

come in。〃 … Lafayette; 〃Mémoires;〃 vol。  II。; 181。  (Letters to M。 de

Maubourg; Oct。  17; 1799 (noté) Oct。  19; 1800。) According to the

report of the Minister of Police; the list of émigrés; in nine vols。;

still embraced one hundred and forty…five thousand persons;

notwithstanding that thirteen thousand were struck off by the

Directory; and twelve hundred by the consular government。



'4' Cf。  Mémoires of Louvet; Dulaure and Vaublanc。  … Mallet…Dupan;

〃Mémoires;〃 II。; 7。  〃Several; to whom I have spoken; literally made

the tour of France in various disguises; without having been able to

find an outlet; it was only after a series of romantic adventures that

they finally succeeded in gaining the Swiss frontier; the only one at

all accessible。〃 … Sauzay; V。; 210; 220; 226; 276。  (Emigration of

fifty…four inhabitants of Charquemont; setting out for Hungary。)



'5' Ibid。; vols。  IV。; V。; VI。; VII。  (On the banished priests

remaining and still continuing their ministrations; and on those who

returned to resume them。) … To obtain an idea of the situation of the

emigrés and their relations and friends; it is necessary to read the

law of Sep。15; 1794 (Brumaire 25; year III。); which renews and

generalizes previous laws; children of fourteen years and ten years

are affected by it。  It was with the greatest difficulty; even if one

did not leave France; that a person could prove that he had not

emigrated。



'6' Pandour; an 18th century Croatian foot…soldier in the Austrian

service: a robber。  (SR)



'7' Moniteur; XVIII。; 215。  (Letter of Brigadier…general Vandamme to

the convention; Ferney; Brumaire I; year II。) The reading of this

letter calls forth 〃reiterated applause。〃



'8' Sauzay; V。; 196。  (The total is five thousand two hundred。  Some

hundreds of names might be added; inasmuch as many of the village

lists are wanting。)



'9' Buchez et Roux; XXXIV。; 434。  (Trial of Fouquier…Tinville;

deposition of Therriet…Grandpré; one of the heads of the commission on

civil Police and Judicial Administration; 51st witness。)



'10' Report by Saladin; March 4; 1795。



'11' Wallon; 〃La Terreur;〃 II。; 202。



'12' Duchatelier; 〃Brest Pendant la Terreur;〃 p。  105。  … Paris;

〃Histoire de Joseph Lebon;〃 II。; 370。  … 〃Tableau des Prisons de

Toulouse;〃 by Pescayre; p。  409。  … 〃 Recueil de Pièces Authentiques

sur la Révolution à Strasbourg;〃 I。; 65。  (List of arrests after

Prairial 7; year II。) When the following arrests were made there were

already over three thousand persons confined in Strasbourg。〃 … Alfred

Lallier; 〃Les Noyades de Nantes;〃 p。90。  … Berryat Saint…Prix; p。436。

(Letter of Maignet to Couthon; Avignon; Floreal 4; year II。)



'13' Baulieu; 〃Essais;〃 V。; 283。  At the end of December; 1793;

Camille Desmoulins wrote: 〃Open the prison doors to those two hundred

thousand citizens whom you call 'suspects'!〃 … The number of prisoners

largely increased during the seven following months。  (〃Le Vieux

Cordelier;〃 No。  IV。; Frimaire 30; year II。) … Beaulieu does not state

precisely what the committee of G
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