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the origins of contemporary france-1-第32章

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he does not recognize that he is being cheated。〃 '35' A rude species

of centralization with no control over it; with no publicity; without

uniformity; thus installs over the whole country an army of petty

pashas who; as judges; decide causes in which they are themselves

contestants; ruling by delegation; and; to sanction their theft or

their insolence; always having on their lips the name of the king; who

is obliged to let them do as they please。  …  In short; the machine;

through its complexity; irregularity; and dimensions; escapes from his

grasp。  A Frederick II。  who rises at four o'clock in the morning; a

Napoleon who dictates half the night in his bath; and who works

eighteen hours a day; would scarcely suffice for its needs。  Such a

régime cannot operate without constant strain; without indefatigable

energy; without infallible discernment; without military rigidity;

without superior genius; on these conditions alone can one convert

twenty…five millions of men into automatons and substitute his own

will; lucid throughout; coherent throughout and everywhere present;

for the wills of those he abolishes。  Louis XV lets 〃the good machine〃

work by itself; while he settles down into apathy。  〃They would have it

so; they thought it all for the best;〃'36'  is his manner of speaking

when ministerial measures prove unsuccessful。  〃If I were a lieutenant

of the police;〃 he would say again; 〃I would prohibit cabs。〃 In vain

is he aware of the machine being dislocated; for he can do nothing and

he causes nothing to be done。  In the event of misfortune he has a

private reserve; his purse apart。  〃The king;〃 said Mme。  de Pompadour;

〃would sign away a million without thinking of it; but he would

scarcely bestow a hundred louis out of his own little treasury。〃  …

Louis XVI strives for some time to remove some of the wheels; to

introduce better ones and to reduce the friction of the rest; but the

pieces are too rusty; and too weighty。  He cannot adjust them; or

harmonize them and keep them in their places; his hand falls by his

side wearied and powerless。  He is content to practice economy himself;

he records in his journal the mending of his watch; and leaves the

State carriage in the hands of Calonne to be loaded with fresh abuses

that it may revert back to the old rut from which it is to issue only

by breaking down。



Undoubtedly the wrong they do; or which is done in their name;

dissatisfies the kings and upsets them; but; at the bottom; their

conscience is not disturbed。  They may feel compassion for the people;

but they do not feel guilty; they are its sovereigns and not its

representatives。  France; to them; is as a domain to its lord; and a

lord is not deprived of honor in being prodigal and neglectful。  He

merely gambles away his own property; and nobody has a right to call

him to account。  Founded on feudal society; royalty is like an estate;

an inheritance。  It would be infidelity; almost treachery in a prince;

in any event weak and base; should he allow any portion of the trust

received by him intact from his ancestors for transmission to his

children; to pass into the hands of his subjects。  Not only according

to medieval traditions is he proprietor…commandant of the French and

of France; but again; according to the theory of the jurists; he is;

like Caesar; the sole and perpetual representative of the nation; and;

according to the theological doctrine; like David; the sacred and

special delegate of God himself。  It would be astonishing; if; with all

these titles; he did not consider the public revenue as his personal

revenue; and if; in many cases; he did not act accordingly。  Our point

of view; in this matter; is so essentially opposed to his; we can

scarcely put ourselves in his place; but at that time his point of

view was everybody's point of view。  It seemed; then; as strange to

meddle with the king's business as to meddle with that of a private

person。  Only at the end of the year 1788'37' the famous salon of the

Palais…Royal 〃with boldness and unimaginable folly; asserts that in a

true monarchy the revenues of the State should not be at the

sovereign's disposition; that he should be granted merely a sum

sufficient to defray the expenses of his establishment; of his

donations; and for favors to his servants as well as for his

pleasures; while the surplus should be deposited in the royal treasury

to be devoted only to purposes sanctioned by the National Assembly。  To

reduce the sovereign to a civil list; to seize nine…tenths of his

income; to forbid him cash on demand; what an outrage! The surprise

would be no greater if at the present day it were proposed to divide

the income of each millionaire into two portions; the smallest to go

for the owner's support; and the largest to be placed in the hands of

a government to be expended in works of public utility。  An old farmer…

general; an intellectual and unprejudiced man; gravely attempts to

justify the purchase of Saint…Cloud by calling it 〃a ring for the

queen's finger。〃 The ring cost; indeed; 7;700;000 francs; but 〃the

king of France then had an income of 447;000;000。  What could be said

of any private individual who; with 477;000 livres income; should; for

once in his life; give his wife diamonds worth 7;000 or 8;000

livres?〃'38'  People would say that the gift is moderate; and that the

husband is reasonable。



To properly understand the history of our kings; let the

fundamental principle be always recognized that France is their land;

a farm transmitted from father to son; at first small; then slowly

enlarged; and; at last; prodigiously enlarged; because the proprietor;

always alert; has found means to make favorable additions to it at the

expense of his neighbors; at the end of eight hundred years it

comprises about 27;000 square leagues of territory。  His interests and

his vanity harmonize; certainly; in several areas with public welfare;

he is; all in all; not a poor administrator; and; since he has always

expanded his territory; he has done better than many others。  Moreover;

around him; a number of expert individuals; old family councilors;

withdrawn from business and devoted to the domain; with good heads an

gray beards; respectfully remonstrate with him when he spends too

freely; they often interest him in public improvements; in roads;

canals; homes for the invalids; military schools; scientific

institutions and charity workshops; in the control of trust…funds and

foundations; in the tolerance of heretics; in the postponement of

monastic vows to the age of twenty…one; in provincial assemblies; and

in other reforms by which a feudal domain becomes transformed into a

modern domain。  Nevertheless; the country; feudal or modern; remains

his property; which he can abuse as well as use; however; whoever uses

with full sway ends by abusing with full license。  If; in his ordinary

conduct; personal motives do not prevail over public motives; he might

be a saint l
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