And what does this prove
What has been told you of the republic of Sparta ought to enlighten youon this question. No other State has had laws more in accordance withthe order of nature or of equalityIt is not to be wondered at that the 17th and 1Sth centuries shouldhave looked upon the human race as inert matter, ready to receiveeverything, form, figure, impulse, movement, and life, from a greatprince, or a great legislator, or a great genius. These ages were reared inhe study of antiquity and antiquity presents everywhere, in egypt, Per-sia, Greece, and Rome, the spectacle of a few men molding mankind ac-cording to their fancy, and mankind to this end enslaved by force or byimposture. And what does this prove? That because men and sodety areimprovable, error, ignorance, despotism, slavery, and superstition mustbe more prevalent in early times. The mistake of the writers quotedabove, is not that they have asserted this fact, but that they have pro-posed it, as a rule, for the admiration and imitation of future generationsTheir mistake has been, with an inconceivable absence of discernmentand upon the faith of a puerile conventionalism, that they have admittedwhat is inadmissible, viz., the grandeur, dignity, morality, and well-be-ing of the artificial societies of the ancient world; they have not under-stood that time produces and spreads enlightenment; and that in propor-tion to the increase of enlightenment, right ceases to be upheld by forceand society regains possession of herselfAnd, in fact, what is the political work which we are endeavoring toPromote? It is no other than the instinctive effort of every people to-wards liberty. And what is liberty, whose name can make every heartbeat, and which can agitate the world, but the union of all liberties, theliberty of conscience, of instruction, of association, of the press, of loco-motion, of labor, and of exchange: in other words, the free exereise, forall, of all the inoffensive faculties; and again, in other words, the destruction of all despotisms, even of legal despotism, and the reduction of lawto its only rational sphere, which is to regulate the individual right of le-gitimate defense, or to repress injustice?This tendency of the human race, it must be admitted, is greatlythwarted, particularly in our country, by the fatal disposition, resultingfrom classical teaching, and common to all politicians, of placing them-selves beyond mankind, to arrange, organize, and regulate it, accordingo their fancy.For whilst soclety is struggling to realize liberty, the great men whoplace themselves at its head, imbued with the principles of theseventeenth and eighteenth centuries, think only of subjecting it to thetism of their social intentions, and making it bearwith docility, according to the expression of Rousseau, the yoke of public
This was particularly1789.Nodestroved, than society was to be submitted to other artificialThe legislator commands the future. It is for him to willmankind. It is for him to malwhat he wishes themobesThe function of government is to directthe nationthe object of its institution.Billlaud varA people who areliberty mustformed anew. Ancient prejudices must be destroyed, antiquated cussectionsed inveterate vices eradicated.For this, a strongnt impulse will be necessarCitizens, the inflexible austerity ofcreatedfirm baartan republic. The feeble and trusting dispositionAthenslaverycontains the whole scienceGovernmentLepellcticr. -"Considering the extentthe necessity of effecting an cntire regeneration of theexpress myself, of creating atherefore, are nothingn improvement. They arrding to Saint-ust, it is onlv the legislator who is. Men are merely to be what he willsthat theybe. According to Robespierre, who copies Rinstitutions ofernment has only to directards this end all thisthe nation itself ismain perfectly passive; and Billatch us that itaffectionsby the legislatorgoes so far as to sav that the inflexibausterity ofthe basis of a repubNe havethat, inwhere the evil is so great that the ordinares are unable to remedy it, Mably recommends a dictatorship.virtue. Have recourse, savsxtraordinary magishose time shall beand his power considerable. Theimagination of the people requires to be impressed. This doctrine hanot been neglected. Listen to Robespierre
The principle of theGovernment is virtue and te meansto be adopted, during its establishment, is terror. We want to substitutefashion, contempt of oice for contempt of misfortune, pride for insolencegreatness of soul for vanity, love of glory for love of money, good peoplefor good company, merit for intrigue, genius for wif, truth for glitter,the charm of happiness for the weariness of pleasure, the greatness ofman for the littleness of the great, a magnanimous, powerful, happypeople, for one that is easy, frigraded that is to sav. wve touldsubstitute all the virtues and miracles of a republic for all the vices andabsurdities of monarchAt what a vast height above the rest of mankind does Robespierrplace himself here! And observe the arrogance with which he speaks. Heis not content with expressing a desire for a great renovation of the hu-man heart, he does not even expect such a result from a regular Govern-ment. No he intends to effect it himself, and by means of terror. The object of the discourse from which this puerile and laborious mass of anti-thesis is extracted, was to exhibit the principles of morality which oughtto direct a revolutionary Government. Moreover, when Robespierre asksfor a dictatorship, it is not merely for the purpose of repelling a foreignenemy, or of putting down factions; it is that he may establish, by meansof terror, and as a preliminary to the game of the Constitution, his ownprinciples of morality. He pretends to nothing short of extirpating fromthe country, by means of terror, egotism, honor, customs, decorum, fash-on, vanity, the love of money, gogood company, intrigue, wit, luxury, andnot until after he, Robespierre, shall have accomplishedthese miracles, as he rightly calls them, that he will allow the law to re-gain her empire. Truly, it would be well if these visionaries, who think somuch of themselves and so litte of mankind who want to reneweverything, would only be content with trying to reform themselves, thetask would be arduous enough for them. In general, however, these gentlemen, the reformers, legislators, and politicians, do not desire to exercise an immediate despotism over mankind. No, they are too moderateand too philanthropic for that. They only contend for the despotism, theabsolutism, the omnipotence of the law. They aspire only to make the
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