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the origins of contemporary france-1-第14章

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Lord…lieutenant; officer in the militia; administrator; justice; he is

visibly useful。  And; above all; he lives at home; from father to son;

he belongs to the district。  He is in hereditary and constant relation

with the local public through his occupations and through his

pleasures; through the chase and caring for the poor; through his

farmers whom he admits at his table; and through his neighbors whom he

meets in committee or in the vestry。  This shows how the old

hierarchies are maintained: it is necessary; and it suffices; that

they should change their military into a civil order of things and

find modern employment for the chieftain of feudal times。



II。  Resident Seigniors。



 Remains of the beneficent feudal spirit。…They are not rigorous

with their tenants but no longer retain the local government。…Their

isolation。…Insignificance or mediocrity of their means of

subsistence。…Their expenditure。…Not in a condition to remit dues。…

Sentiments of peasantry towards them。



If we go back a little way in our history we find here and there

similar nobles。'3' Such was the Duc de Saint…Simon; father of the

writer; a real sovereign in his government of Blaye; a respected by

the king himself。  Such was the grandfather Mirabeau; in his chateau of

Mirabeau in Provence; the haughtiest; most absolute; most intractable

of men; 〃demanding that the officers whom he appointed in his regiment

should be favorably received by the king and by his ministers;〃

tolerating the inspectors only as a matter of form; but heroic;

generous; faithful; distributing the pension offered to himself among

six wounded captains under his command; mediating for poor litigants

in the mountain; driving off his grounds the wandering attorneys who

come to practice their chicanery; 〃the natural protector of man even

against ministers and the king。  A party of tobacco inspectors having

searched his curate's house; he pursues them so energetically on

horseback that they hardly escape him by fording the Durance。

Whereupon; 〃he wrote to demand the dismissal of the officers;

declaring that unless this was done every person employed in the

Excise should be driven into the Rhine or the sea; some of them were

dismissed and the director himself came to give him satisfaction。〃

Finding his canton sterile and the settlers on it idle he organized

them into groups; women and children; and; in the foulest weather;

puts himself at their head; with his twenty severe wounds and neck

supported by a piece of silver。  He pays them to work making them clear

off the lands; which he gives them on leases of a hundred years; and

he makes them enclose a mountain of rocks with high walls and plant it

with olive trees。  〃No one; under any pretext could be excused from

working unless he was ill; and in this case under treatment; or

occupied on his own property; a point in which my father could not be

deceived; and nobody would have dared to do it。〃 These are the last

offshoots of the old; knotty; savage trunk; but still capable of

affording shelter。  Others could still be found in remote cantons; in

Brittany and in Auvergne; veritable district commanders; and I am sure

that in time of need the peasants would obey them as much out of

respect as from fear。  Vigor of heart and of body justifies its own

ascendancy; while the superabundance of energy; which begins in

violence; ends in beneficence。



Less independent and less harsh a paternal government subsists

elsewhere; if not in the law at least through custom。  In Brittany;

near Tréguier and Lannion; says the bailiff of Mirabeau;'4' 〃the entire

staff of the coast…guard is composed of people of quality and of stock

going back a thousand years。  I have not seen one of them get irritated

with a peasant…soldier; while; at the same time; I have seen on the

part of the latter an air of filial respect for them 。  。  。  。  It is a

terrestrial paradise with respect to patriarchal manners; simplicity

and true grandeur; the attitude of the peasants towards the seigniors

is that of an affectionate son with his father; and the seigniors in

talking with the peasants use their rude and coarse language; and

speak only in a kind and genial way。  We see mutual regard between

masters and servants。〃 Farther south; in the Bocage; a wholly

agricultural region; and with no roads; where ladies are obliged to

travel on horseback and in ox…carts; where the seignior has no

farmers; but only twenty…five or thirty métayers who work for him on

shares; the supremacy of the great is no offense to their inferiors。

People live together harmoniously when living together from birth to

death; familiarly; and with the same interests; occupations and

pleasures; like soldiers with their officers; on campaigns and under

tents; in subordination although in companionship; familiarity never

endangering respect。  〃The seignior often visits them on their small

farms;'5' talks with them about their affairs; about taking care of

their cattle; sharing in the accidents and mishaps which likewise

seriously affect him。  He attends their children's weddings and drinks

with the guests。  On Sunday there are dances in the chateau court; and

the ladies take part in them。〃 When he is about to hunt wolves or

boars the curate gives notice of it in the sermon; the peasants; with

their guns gaily assemble at the rendezvous; finding the seignior who

assigns them their posts; and strictly observing the directions he

gives them。  Here are soldiers and a captain ready made。  A little

later; and of their own accord; they will choose him for commandant in

the national guard; mayor of the commune; chief of the insurrection;

and; in 1792; the marksmen of the parish are to march under him

against 〃 the blues〃 as; at this epoch against the wolves。  Such are

the remnants of the good feudal spirit; like the scattered remnants of

a submerged continent。  Before Louis XIV。; the spectacle was similar

throughout France。  〃The rural nobility of former days;〃 says the

Marquis de Mirabeau; 〃spent too much time over their cups; slept on

old chairs or pallets; mounted and started off to hunt before

daybreak; met together on St。  Hubert's; and did not part until after

the octave of St。  Martin's。  。  。  。  These nobles led a gay and hard

life; voluntarily; costing the State very little; and producing more

through its residence and manure than we of today with our tastes; our

researches; our cholics and our vapors 。  。  The custom; and it may be

said; the obsession of making presents to the seigniors; is well

known。  I have; in my lifetime; seen this custom everywhere disappear;

and rightly so 。  。  。  。  The seigniors are no longer of any consequence

to them; is quite natural that they should be forgotten by them as

they forget 。  。  。  。  The seignior being no longer known on his estates

everybody pillages him; which is right。〃'6' Everywhere; except in remote

comers; the affection and unity of the two classes has disa
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