第407章

Here the worm-eaten barriers have cracked all at once， their easy-going， timid， incapable guardians having allowed things to take their course. Society， accordingly， disintegrated and a pell-mell， is turned into a turbulent， shouting crowd， each pushing and being pushed， all alike over-excited and congratulating each other on having finally obtained elbow-room， and all demanding the new barriers shall be as fragile and the new guardians as feeble， as defenseless， and as inert as possible. This is what has been done. As a natural consequence， those who were foremost in the rank have been relegated to the last；many have been struck down in the fray， while in this permanent state of disorder， which goes under the name of lasting order， elegant footwear continue to be stamped upon by hobnailed boots and wooden shoes. - The fanatic and the intemperate egoists can now let themselves go. They are no longer subject to any ancient institutions， nor any armed might which can restrain them. On the contrary， the new constitution， through its theoretical declarations and the practical application of these， invites them to let themselves go. -- For， on the one hand， legally， it declares to be based upon pure reason， beginning with a long string of abstract dogmas from which its positive prescriptions are assumed to be rigorously deduced.

As a consequence all laws are submitted to the shallow comments of reasoners and quibblers who will both interpret and break them according to the principles.[10] -- On the other hand， as a matter of fact， it hands over all government powers to the elections and confers on the clubs the control of the authorities： which is to offer a premium to the presumption of the ambitious who put themselves forward because they think themselves capable， and who defame their rulers purposely to displace them. - Every government department， organization or administrative system is like a hothouse which serves to favor some species of the human plant and wither others. This one is the best one for the propagation and rapid increase of the coffee-house politician， club haranguer， the stump-speaker， the street-rioter， the committee dictator -- in short， the revolutionary and the tyrant. In this political hothouse wild dreams and conceit will assume monstrous proportions， and， in a few months， brains that are now only ardent become hotheads.

Let us trace the effect of this excessive， unhealthy temperature on imaginations and ambitions. The old tenement is down； the foundations of the new one are not yet laid； society has to be made over again from top to bottom. All willing men are asked to come and help， and， as one plain principle suffices in drawing a plan， the first comer may succeed. Henceforth political fancies swarm in the district meetings， in the clubs， in the newspapers， in pamphlets， and in every head-long， venturesome brain.

"There is not a merchant's clerk educated by reading the 'Nouvelle Héloise，'[11] not a school teacher that has translated ten pages of Livy， not an artist that has leafed through Rollin， not an aesthete converted into journalists by committing to memory the riddles of the 'Contrat Social，' who does not draft a constitution. . . As nothing is easier than to perfect a daydream， all perturbed minds gather， and become excited， in this ideal realm. They start out with curiosity and end up with enthusiasm. The man in the street rushes to the enterprise in the same manner as a miser to a conjurer promising treasures， and， thus childishly attracted， each hopes to find at once， what has never been seen under even the most liberal governments： perpetual perfection， universal brotherhood， the power of acquiring what one lacks， and a life composed wholly of enjoyment."One of these pleasures， and a keen one， is to daydream. One soars in space. By means of eight or ten ready-made sentences， found in the six-penny catechisms circulated by thousands in the country and in the suburbs of the towns and cities，[12] a village attorney， a customs clerk， a theater attendant， a sergeant of a soldier's mess， becomes a legislator and philosopher. He criticizes Malouet， Mirabeau， the Ministry， the King， the Assembly， the Church， foreign Cabinets， France， and all Europe. Consequently， on these important subjects， which always seemed forever forbidden to him， he offers resolutions， reads addresses， makes harangues， obtains applause， and congratulates himself on having argued so well and with such big words. To hold fort on questions that are not understood is now an occupation， a matter of pride and profit.

"More is uttered in one day，" says an eye-witness，[13] "in one section of Paris than in one year in all the Swiss political assemblies put together. An Englishman would give six weeks of study to what we dispose of in a quarter of an hour."Everywhere， in the town halls， in popular meetings， in the sectional assemblies， in the wine shops， on the public promenades， on street corners vanity erects a tribune of verbosity.