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the origins of contemporary france-3-第41章

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to persevering audacity in defiance of legitimate means; unable either

to make up their mind or to remain inactive; perplexed over sacrifices

just at the time when the enemy is going to render it impossible to

make any in the future; in a word; bringing weakness and egoism to

bear against the liberated passions; great poverty and hardened

immorality。〃'55'



The issue of the conflict is everywhere the same。 In each town or

canton an aggressive squad of unscrupulous fanatics and resolute

adventurers imposes its rule over a sheep…like majority which;

accustomed to the regularity of an old civilization; dares neither

disturb order for the sake of putting and end to disorder; or get

together a mob to put down another mob。 Everywhere the Jacobin

principle is the same。



 〃Your system;〃 says one of the department Directories to them;'56'

〃is to act imperturbably on all occasions; even after a constitution

is established; and the limitations to power are fixed; as if the

empire would always be in a state of insurrection; as if you were

granted a dictatorship essential for the city's salvation; as if you

were given such full power in the name of public safety。〃



Everywhere are Jacobin tactics the same。 At the outset they assume to

have a monopoly of patriotism and; through the brutal destruction of

other associations; they are the only visible organ of public opinion。

Their voice; accordingly; seems to be the voice of the people; their

control is established on that of the legal authorities; they have

taken the lead through persistent and irresistible misdeeds; their

crimes are consecrated by exemption from punishment。



〃Among officials and agents; good or bad; constituted or not

constituted; that alone governs which is inviolable。 Now the club; for

a long time; has been too much accustomed to domineering; to annoying;

to persecuting; to wreaking vengeance; for any local administration to

regard it in any other light than as inviolable。〃'57'



They accordingly govern and their indirect influence is promptly

transformed into direct authority。  Voting alone; or almost alone;

in the primary meetings; which are deserted or under constraint; the

Jacobins easily choose the municipal body and the officers of the

National Guard。'58' After this; through the mayor; who is their tool

or their accomplice; they have the legal right to launch or arrest the

entire armed force and they avail themselves of it。  Two obstacles

still stand in their way。 One the one hand; however conciliatory or

timid the Directory of the district or department may be; elected as

it is by electors of the second degree; it usually contains a fair

proportion of well…informed men; comfortably off; interested in

keeping order; and less inclined than the municipality to put up with

gross violations of the law。 Consequently the Jacobins denounce it to

the National Assembly as an unpatriotic and anti…revolutionary center

of 〃bourgeois aristocracy。〃 Sometimes; as at Brest;'59' they

shamefully disobey orders which are perfectly legal and proper; often

repeated and strictly formal; afterward; still more shamefully; they

demand of the Minister if; 〃placed in the cruel alternative of giving

offense to the hierarchy of powers; or of leaving the commonwealth in

danger; they ought to hesitate。〃  Sometimes; as at Arras; they impose

themselves illegally on the Directory in session and browbeat it so

insolently as to make it a point of honor with the latter to solicit

its own suspension。'60' Sometimes; as a Figeac; they summon an

administrator to their bar; keep him standing three…quarters of an

hour; seize his papers and oblige him; for fear of something worse; to

leave the town。'61'  Sometimes; as at Auch; they invade the

Directory's chambers; seize the administrators by the throat; pound

them with their fists and clubs; drag the president by the hair; and;

after a good deal of trouble; grant him his life。'62'  On the other

hand; the gendarmerie and the troops brought for the suppression of

riots; are always in the way of those who stir up the rioters。

Consequently; they expel; corrupt and; especially purify the

gendarmerie together with the troops。 At Cahors they drive out a

sergeant of the gendarmerie; 〃alleging that he keeps company with none

but aristocrats。〃'63' At Toulouse; without mentioning the lieutenant…

colonel; whose life they threaten by anonymous letters and oblige to

leave the town; they transfer the whole corps to another district

under the pretense that 〃its principles are adverse to the

Constitution。〃'64' At Auch; and at Rennes; through the insubordination

which they provoke among the men; they exhort resignations from their

officers。 At Perpignan; by means of a riot which they foment; they

seize; beat and drag to prison; the commandant and staff whom they

accuse 〃of wanting to bombard the town with five pounds of

powder。〃'65'… Meanwhile; through the jacquerie; which they let loose

from the Dordogne to Aveyron; from Cantal to the Pyrenees and the Var;

under the pretence of punishing the relatives of émigrés and the

abettors of unsworn priests; they create an army of their own made up

of robbers and the destitute who; in anticipation of the exploits of

the coming revolutionary army; freely kill; burn; pillage; hold to

ransom and prey at large on the defenseless flock of proprietors of

every class and degree。'66'



In this operation each club has its neighbors for allies; offering to

them or receiving from them offers of men and money。 That of Caen

tenders its assistance to the Bayeux association for expelling unsworn

priests; and to help the patriots of the place  〃to rid themselves of

the tyranny of their administrators。〃'67' That of Besan?on declares

the three administrative bodies of Strasbourg 〃unworthy of the

confidence with which they have been honored;〃 and openly enters into

a league with all the clubs of the Upper and Lower Rhine; to set free

a Jacobin arrested as a fomenter of insurrections。'68' Those of the

Puy…de…D?me and neighboring departments depute to and establish at

Clermont a central club of direction and propaganda。'69' Those of the

Bouches…du…Rh?ne treat with the commissioners of the departments of

Dr?me; Gard; and Hérault; to watch the Spanish frontier; and send

delegates of their own to see the state of the fortifications of

Figuières。'70'  There is no recourse to the criminal tribunals。 In

forty departments; these are not yet installed; in the forty…three

others; they are cowed; silent; or lack money and men to enforce their

decisions。'71'



Such is the foundation of the Jacobin State; a confederation of twelve

hundred oligarchies; which maneuver their proletariat clients in

obedience to the word of command dispatched from Paris。 It is a

complete; organized; active State; with its central government; its

active force; its official journal; its regular correspondence; its

declared policy; its established authority; and its representative and

local agents; the latter are actual administrators alongside of

administrations which are abolished; or athwart administrations which

are brought under subjection。   In vain do the latest ministers;

good clerks and honest men; try to fulfill their duties; their

injunctions and remonstrances are only so much waste paper。'72' They

resign in despair; declaring that;



 〃in this overthrow of all order; 。 。 。  in the present weakness of

the public forces; and in the degradation of the constituted

authorities; 。 。 。 it is impossible for them to maintain the life and

energy of the vast body; the members of which are paralyzed。〃 …



 When the roots of a tree are laid bare; it is easy to cut it down;

now that the Jacobins have severed them; a push on the trunk suffices

to bring the tree to the ground。

______________________________________________________________________



NOTES:







'1' De Loménie; 〃Les Mirabeaus;〃 I。 11。 (Letter of the Marquis de

Mirabeau)。



'2' 〃 Archives Nationales;〃 F7; 7171; No。 7915。 Report on the

situation in Marseilles; by Miollis; commissioner of the Directory in

the department; year V。 Niv?se 15。 〃A good many strangers from France

and Italy are attracted there by the lust of gain; a love of pleasure;

the want of work; a desire to escape from the effects of ill conduct 。

。 。 Individuals of both sexes and of every age; with no ties of

country or kindred; with no profession; no opinions; pressed by daily

necessities that are multiplied by debauched habit; seeking to indulge

these without too much effort; the means for this being formerly found

in the many manual operations of commerce; gone astray during the

Revolution and; subsequently; scared of the dominant party; accustomed

unfortunately at that time to receiving pay for taking part in

political strife; and now reduced to living on almost gratuitous

distributions of food; to dealing in small wares; to the menial

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