Surrendered to rural jacqueries and to town mobs， they undergo， first， the neglect and， next， the hostility of the State： the public gendarme has ceased to protect them and refuses his services； afterwards， on becoming a Jacobin， he declares himself their enemy， treats them as enemies， plunders them， imprisons them， murders them， expels or transports them， inflicts on them civil death， and shoots them if they dare return； he deprives their friends or kindred who remain in France of their civil rights； he deprives the nobles or the ennobled of their quality as Frenchmen， and compels them to naturalize themselves afresh according to prescribed formalities ； he renews against the Catholics the interdictions， persecutions and brutalities which the old government had practiced against the Calvinist minority. - Thus， in 1799 as in 1789， there are two classes of Frenchmen， two different varieties of men， the first one superior， installed in the civic fold， and the second， inferior and excluded from it； only， in 1799， the greatest inequality consigned the inferior and excluded class to a still lower， more remote， and much worse condition.
The principle (of equalite) ， nevertheless， subsists. Since 1789 it is inscribed at the top of every constitution； it is still proclaimed in the new constitution. It has remained popular， although perverted and disfigured by the Jacobins； their false and gross interpretation of it could not bring it into discredit； athwart the hideous grotesque caricature， all minds and sentiments ever recur to the ideal form of the cité to the veritable social contract， to the impartial， active， and permanent reign of distributive justice. Their entire education， all the literature， philosophy and culture of the eighteenth century， leads them onward to this conception of society and of rights； more profoundly still， they are predisposed to it by the inner structure of their intelligence， by the original cast of their sensibility7 by the hereditary defects and qualities of their nature and of their race.-The Frenchman easily and quickly grasps some general trait of objects and persons， some characteristic in common； here， this characteristic is the inherent quality of man which he dexterously makes prominent， clearly isolates， and then， stepping along briskly and confidently， rushes ahead on the high-road to consequences.[2] He has forgotten that his summary notion merely corresponds to an extract， and a very brief one， of man in his completeness； his decisive， precipitate process hinders him from seeing the largest portion of the real individual； he has overlooked numerous traits， the most important and most efficacious， those which geography， history， habit， condition， manual labor， or a liberal education， stamp on intellect， soul and body and which， through their differences， constitute different local or social groups. Not only does he overlook all these characteristics， but he sets them aside； they are too numerous and too complex； they would interfere with and disturb his thoughts； however fitted for clear and comprehensive logic he is so much the less fitted for complex and comprehensive ideas； consequently， he avoids them and， through an innate operation of which he is unconscious， he involuntarily condenses， simplifies and curtails henceforth， his idea， partial and superficial as it is， seems to him adequate and complete；in his eyes the abstract quality of man takes precedence of and absorbs all others； not only has this a value， but the sole value. One man， therefore， is as good as another and the law should treat all alike. - Here， amour-propre (self-esteem， pride or arrogance)， so keen in France， and so readily excited， comes in to interpret and apply the formula：[3]
"Since all men equal each other， I am as good as any man； if the law confers a right on people of this or that condition， fortune or birth， it must confer the same right on me. Every door that is open to them must be open to me； every door that is closed to me must be closed to them. Otherwise， I am treated as an inferior and wounded in my deepest feelings. When the legislator places a ballot in their hands he is bound to place another just like it in my hands， even if they know how to use it and I do not， even if a limited suffrage is of use to the community and universal suffrage is not. So much the worse if I am sovereign only in name， and through the imagination； I consent to my sovereignty being illusory， but with the understanding that the sovereignty of others is regarded likewise； so I prefer servitude and privation for all， rather than liberties and advantages for a few， and， provided the same level is passed over all heads， I submit to the yoke for all heads， including my own."Such is the internal composition of the instinct of' equality， and such is the natural instinct of Frenchmen. It is beneficial or mischievous according as one or the other of its ingredients predominates， at one time the noble sentiment of equity and at another time the low envy of foolish vanity；[4] healthy or unhealthy， however， its power in France is enormous， and the new Régime gratifies it in every possible way， good or bad. No more legal disqualifications！ On the one hand， the republican laws of proscription or of exception were all repealed： we have seen an amnesty and the return of the émigrés， the Concordat， the restoration of Catholic worship， the compulsory reconciliation of the constitutionalists with the orthodox； the First Consul admits no difference between them； his new clergy are recruited from both groups and， in this respect， he forces the Pope to yield.[5]
