登陆注册
5419100000011

第11章

The Faubourg Saint-Germain took to playing with batons, and fancied that all the power was in its hands.It inverted the terms of the proposition which called it into existence.And instead of flinging away the insignia which offended the people, and quietly grasping the power, it allowed the bourgeoisie to seize the authority, clung with fatal obstinacy to its shadow, and over and over again forgot the laws which a minority must observe if it would live.When an aristocracy is scarce a thousandth part of the body social, it is bound today, as of old, to multiply its points of action, so as to counterbalance the weight of the masses in a great crisis.And in our days those means of action must be living forces, and not historical memories.

In France, unluckily, the noblesse were still so puffed up with the notion of their vanished power, that it was difficult to contend against a kind of innate presumption in themselves.

Perhaps this is a national defect.The Frenchman is less given than anyone else to undervalue himself; it comes natural to him to go from his degree to the one above it; and while it is a rare thing for him to pity the unfortunates over whose heads he rises, he always groans in spirit to see so many fortunate people above him.He is very far from heartless, but too often he prefers to listen to his intellect.The national instinct which brings the Frenchman to the front, the vanity that wastes his substance, is as much a dominant passion as thrift in the Dutch.For three centuries it swayed the noblesse, who, in this respect, were certainly pre-eminently French.The scion of the Faubourg Saint-Germain, beholding his material superiority, was fully persuaded of his intellectual superiority.And everything contributed to confirm him in his belief; for ever since the Faubourg Saint-Germain existed at all--which is to say, ever since Versailles ceased to be the royal residence--the Faubourg, with some few gaps in continuity, was always backed up by the central power, which in France seldom fails to support that side.

Thence its downfall in 1830.

At that time the party of the Faubourg Saint-Germain was rather like an army without a base of operation.It had utterly failed to take advantage of the peace to plant itself in the heart of the nation.It sinned for want of learning its lesson, and through an utter incapability of regarding its interests as a whole.A future certainty was sacrificed to a doubtful present gain.This blunder in policy may perhaps be attributed to the following cause.

The class-isolation so strenuously kept up by the noblesse brought about fatal results during the last forty years; even caste-patriotism was extinguished by it, and rivalry fostered among themselves.When the French noblesse of other times were rich and powerful, the nobles (gentilhommes) could choose their chiefs and obey them in the hour of danger.As their power diminished, they grew less amenable to discipline; and as in the last days of the Byzantine Empire, everyone wished to be emperor.

They mistook their uniform weakness for uniform strength.

Each family ruined by the Revolution and the abolition of the law of primogeniture thought only of itself, and not at all of the great family of the noblesse.It seemed to them that as each individual grew rich, the party as a whole would gain in strength.And herein lay their mistake.Money, likewise, is only the outward and visible sign of power.All these families were made up of persons who preserved a high tradition of courtesy, of true graciousness of life, of refined speech, with a family pride, and a squeamish sense of noblesse oblige which suited well with the kind of life they led; a life wholly filled with occupations which become contemptible so soon as they cease to be accessories and take the chief place in existence.There was a certain intrinsic merit in all these people, but the merit was on the surface, and none of them were worth their face-value.

Not a single one among those families had courage to ask itself the question, "Are we strong enough for the responsibility of power?" They were cast on the top, like the lawyers of 1830;and instead of taking the patron's place, like a great man, the Faubourg Saint-Germain showed itself greedy as an upstart.The most intelligent nation in the world perceived clearly that the restored nobles were organising everything for their own particular benefit.From that day the noblesse was doomed.The Faubourg Saint-Germain tried to be an aristocracy when it could only be an oligarchy--two very different systems, as any man may see for himself if he gives an intelligent perusal to the list of the patronymics of the House of Peers.

The King's Government certainly meant well; but the maxim that the people must be made to WILL everything, even their own welfare, was pretty constantly forgotten, nor did they bear in mind that La France is a woman and capricious, and must be happy or chastised at her own good pleasure.If there had been many dukes like the Duc de Laval, whose modesty made him worthy of the name he bore, the elder branch would have been as securely seated on the throne as the House of Hanover at this day.

In 1814 the noblesse of France were called upon to assert their superiority over the most aristocratic bourgeoisie in the most feminine of all countries, to take the lead in the most highly educated epoch the world had yet seen.And this was even more notably the case in 1820.The Faubourg Saint-Germain might very easily have led and amused the middle classes in days when people's heads were turned with distinctions, and art and science were all the rage.But the narrow-minded leaders of a time of great intellectual progress all of them detested art and science.

同类推荐
  • 胜军化世百瑜伽他经

    胜军化世百瑜伽他经

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 广异记

    广异记

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 佛说自爱经

    佛说自爱经

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 请废八股折试帖楷法试士改用策论折

    请废八股折试帖楷法试士改用策论折

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 二南密旨

    二南密旨

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
热门推荐
  • 多少代人的耕耘在傍晚结束

    多少代人的耕耘在傍晚结束

    各位,我们大家来到这里讨论诗人多多的创作,我认为是富有深意的举动。作为一个著名的朦胧诗诗人,甚至是最被低估的一个当代诗人,多多延续数十年的创作,不仅仅是属于他个人的一个征程,也是一个历史化的事业。为什么这样说呢?根据我的阅读体会和反复揣摩,在我个人看来,多多的诗歌不仅冲破了中国传统农耕文化的局限性,也冲破了这种古老的富有民族心理暗示意义的文化样式的优越性,并将这种文化心态上的优越感击得粉碎,在这样一个基础上,他还发展出一种富有个人性的语法途径。
  • 重生之洪荒天尊

    重生之洪荒天尊

    一样的洪荒,不一样的故事,一个后世穿越的人,纵横洪荒世界,拯救鸿钧脱离天道,最终成就一个至高的存在……无需介绍太多东西,一切都需要你们自己前去观看……你们便是主角,你们便是纵横洪荒的牛人,尽情的想象吧!
  • 念佛起缘弥陀观偈直解

    念佛起缘弥陀观偈直解

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 玄武天下(全9册)

    玄武天下(全9册)

    千世的轮回消磨不了他(刀)内在的杀气。万年的魔咒尘封不住他(剑)体内的战意。他们的出世使平静的乐士烽烟四起!他们的重逢将武界引入神魔之境!四帝的传说,神祇的传奇,导致大冥乐土万世伟业分崩离析。一位自认能战胜传说的惊世强者在战火中崛起,他以不屈的战意与传说之剑融为一体,并以玄道意境与火帝之女展开千世的恋情。神祇的荣辱,乐土的存亡,武道的兴衰与他的命运息息相连。
  • 壬归

    壬归

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 成功人士的七个习惯

    成功人士的七个习惯

    习惯对我们的生活有绝大的影响,因为它是一贯的。在不知不觉中,经年累月影响着我们的品德,暴露出我们的本性,左右着我们的成败。在现代社会,要想做一名成功人士,创造卓越的成就,就必须从培养良好的个人习惯入手。每个人在日常生活中都有各种各样的习惯,但是怎样的习惯才有助于你成功呢?
  • 重生之校花王者保镖

    重生之校花王者保镖

    柳逸重生了,不小心成为大小姐的保镖,而都市中居然还有修炼者……
  • 任正非:工程师要有一点商人的味道

    任正非:工程师要有一点商人的味道

    任正非认为,即使是身在工程师这个岗位,也要为满足客户需求的产品和服务。
  • 瓦尔登湖

    瓦尔登湖

    《瓦尔登湖》记录了梭罗隐居瓦尔登湖畔两年的简朴生活、深入思考以及重塑自我的心路历程,文笔宁静恬淡,引人深思。他在小木屋旁开荒种地,自给自足。他与湖水、森林和飞鸟对话,在湖上泛舟,在岸边钓鱼,晚上在小木屋中记下自己的观察和思考。他骄傲地宣称:“每个人都是自己王国的国王,与这个王国相比,沙皇帝国也不过是一个卑微小国,犹如冰天雪地中的小雪团。”在卢梭看来,人们所追求的大部分奢侈品以及大部分所谓生活的舒适,非但没有必要,而且对人类进步有着阻碍作用。
  • 冬日送凉州刺史

    冬日送凉州刺史

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。