Combats with the pen and with words did not appear to us capable of damaging our existing superiority， which several centuries of possession had made us regard as impregnable. The forms of the edifice remaining intact， we could not see how it could be mined from within. We laughed at the serious alarm of the old court and of the clergy which thundered against the spirit of innovation. We applauded republican scenes in the theater，[50] philosophic discourses in our Academies， the bold publications of the literary class."- If inequality still subsists in the distribution of offices and of places， "equality begins to reign in society. On many occasions literary titles obtain precedence over titles of nobility. Courtiers and servants of the passing fashion， paid their court to Marmontel， d'Alembert and Raynal. We frequently saw in company literary men of the second and third rank greeted and receiving attentions not extended to the nobles of the provinces. . . . Institutions remained monarchical， but manners and customs became republican. Aword of praise from d'Alembert or Diderot was more esteemed than the most marked favor from a prince. . .It was impossible to pass an evening with d'Alembert， or at the H？tel de Larochefoucauld among the friends of Turgot， to attend a breakfast at the Abbé Raynal's， to be admitted into the society and family of M. de Malesherbes， and lastly， to approach a most amiable queen and a most upright king， without believing ourselves about to enter upon a kind of golden era of which preceding centuries afforded no idea. . . . We were bewildered by the prismatic hues of fresh ideas and doctrines， radiant with hopes， ardently aglow for every sort of reputation， enthusiastic for all talents and beguiled by every seductive dream of a philosophy that was about to secure the happiness of the human species. Far from foreseeing misfortune， excess， crime， the overthrow of thrones and of principles， the future disclosed to us only the benefits which humanity was to derive from the sovereignty of Reason. Freedom of the press and circulation was given to every reformative writing， to every project of innovation， to the most liberal ideas and to the boldest of systems. Everybody thought himself on the road to perfection without being under any embarrassment or fearing any kind of obstacle. We were proud of being Frenchmen and， yet again， Frenchmen of the eighteenth century. . . . Never was a more terrible awakening preceded by a sweeter slumber or by more seductive dreams."They do not content themselves with dreams， with pure desires， with passive aspirations. They are active， and truly generous； a worthy cause suffices to secure their devotion. On the news of the American rebellion， the Marquis de Lafayette， leaving his young wife pregnant， escapes， braves the orders of the court， purchases a frigate， crosses the ocean and fights by the side of Washington. "The moment the quarrel was made known to me，" he says， "my heart was enlisted in it， and my only thought was to rejoin my regiment." Numbers of gentlemen follow in his footsteps. They undoubtedly love danger； "the chance of being shot is too precious to be neglected."[51] But the main thing is to emancipate the oppressed； "we showed ourselves philosophers by becoming paladins，"[52] the chivalric sentiment enlisting in the service of liberty. Other services besides these， more sedentary and less brilliant， find no fewer zealots. The chief personages of the provinces in the provincial assemblies，[53] the bishops， archbishops， abbés， dukes， counts， and marquises， with the wealthiest and best informed of the notables in the Third-Estate， in all about a thousand persons， in short the social elect， the entire upper class convoked by the king， organize the budget， defend the tax-payer against the fiscal authorities， arrange the land-registry， equalize the taille， provide a substitute for the corvée， provide public roads， multiply charitable asylums， educate agriculturists， proposing， encouraging and directing every species of reformatory movement. I have read through the twenty volumes of their procès-verbaux： no better citizens， no more conscientious men， no more devoted administrators can be found， none gratuitously taking so much trouble on themselves with no object but the public welfare. Never was an aristocracy so deserving of power at the moment of losing it；the privileged class， aroused from their indolence， were again becoming public men， and， restored to their functions， were returning to their duties. In 1778， in the first assembly of Berry， the Abbéde Seguiran， the reporter， has the courage to state that "the distribution of the taxes should be a fraternal partition of public obligations."[54] In 1780 the abbés， priors and chapters of the same province contribute 60，000 livres of their funds， and a few gentlemen， in less than twenty-four hours， contribute 17，000 livres. In 1787， in the assembly of Alen？on the nobility and the clergy tax themselves 30，000 livres to relieve the indigent in each parish subject to taxation[55]. in the month of April， 1787， the king， in an assembly of the notables， speaks of "the eagerness with which archbishops and bishops come forward claiming no exemption in their contributions to the public revenue." In the month of March， 1789， on the opening of the bailiwick assemblies， the entire clergy， nearly all the nobility， in short， the whole body of the privileged class voluntarily renounce their privileges in relation to taxation. The sacrifice is voted unanimously； they themselves offer it to the Third-Estate， and it is worth while to see their generous and sympathetic tone in the manuscript procès-verbaux.
