Each faction inside of the party， having forged its ideal people according to its own logical process and necessities， exercised the orthodox privilege of claiming the monopoly of sovereignty.[145] To secure the benefits of omnipotence， it has combated its rivals with falsified， annulled or constrained elections， with plots and mendacity， with ambushes and sudden assaults， with the pikes of the rabble and with the bayonets of soldiers. It has then massacred， guillotined， shot， and deported the vanquished as tyrants， traitors or rebels， and survivors do not forget this. They have learnt what their so called eternal constitutions amount to； they know how to estimate their proclamations and oaths， their respect for law， justice， their humanity； they understand them and know that they are all so many fraternal Cains，[146] all more or less debased， dangerous， soiled and depraved by their work； the distrust is irremediable. They can still turn out manifests， decrees and cabals， and get up revolutions， but they can no longer agree amongst themselves and heartily defer to the justified ascendancy and recognized authority of any one or among their own body. - After ten years of mutual assault there is not one among the three thousand legislators who have sat in the sovereign assemblies that can count on the deference and loyalty of a hundred Frenchmen. The social body is disintegrated； amongst the millions of disconnected atoms not a nucleus of spontaneous cohesion and stable co-ordination remains. It is impossible for civil France to reconstruct itself； as impossible as it would be to build a Notre Dame of Paris， or a St. Peter's of Rome out of the slime of the streets or the dust of the highways.
With military France it is otherwise. Here， men have made trial of each other， and are devoted to each other， subordinates to their leaders， and all to one great work. The sentiments are strong and healthy which bind human wills in a cluster of mutual sympathy， trust， esteem and admiration， and all these super abound， while the free companionship which still subsists between inferior and superior，[147]
that gay unrestrained familiarity so dear to the French， draws the knot still closer. In this world unsullied by political defilements and ennobled by habits of abnegation，[148] there is all that constitutes an organized and visible society， a hierarchy， not external and veneered， but moral and deep-seated， with uncontested titles， recognized superiorities， an accepted subordination， rights and duties stamped on all consciences， in brief， what has always been wanting in revolutionary institutions， the discipline of sentiments and emotions. Give to these men a countersign and they do not discuss； provided it is legal， or seems so， they act accordingly， not merely against strangers， but against Frenchmen： thus， already on the 13th Vendémiaire they mowed down the Parisians， and on the 18th of Fructidor they purged the Legislative Corps. Let a famous general appear， and provided he respects formalities， they will follow him and once more repeat the operation. - One does appear， one who for three years has thought of nothing else， but who on this occasion will repeat the operation only for his own advantage. He is the most illustrious of all， and precisely the conductor or promoter of the two previous ones， the very same who personally brought about the 13th of Vendémiaire， and likewise， at the hands of his lieutenant， Augereau， the 18th of Fructidor. - Let him be authorized by the semblance of a decree， let him be appointed major-general of the armed force by a minority of one of the Councils， and the army will march behind him.
- Let him issue the usual proclamations， let him summon "his comrades"to save the Republic and clear the hall of the Five Hundred； his grenadiers will enter with fixed bayonets and even laugh at the sight of the deputies， dressed as for the opera， scrambling off precipitately out of the windows.[149] - Let him manage the transitions， let him avoid the ill-sounding name of dictator， let him assume a modest and yet classic revolutionary Roman title， let him along with two others be simple consuls； the soldiers， who have neither time nor leisure to be publicists and who are only skin-deep republicans， will ask nothing more. They regard their system as a very good one for the French people， the despotic system without which there can be no army， that which places the absolute command in the hands of one individual. - Let him put down other Jacobins， let him revoke their late decrees on hostages and the forced loan， let him restore safety and security to persons， property and consciences； let him bring back order， economy and efficiency to the administrations；let him provide for public services， hospitals， roads and schools， the whole of civil France will welcome its liberator， protector and restorer.[150] - In his own words， the system he brings is that of "the alliance of Philosophy with the Sword，" philosophy meaning， as it was then understood， the application of abstract principles to politics， the logical construction of a State according to general and simple notices with a social plan， uniform and rectilinear.
