第155章

One evening Target， a dull lawyer， having taken a pinch from the snuff-box of the Maréchale de Beauvau， the latter， whose drawing room is a small democratic club， is amazed at such monstrous familiarity.

Later， Mirabeau， on returning home just after having voted for the abolition of the titles of nobility， takes his servant by the ear， laughingly proclaiming in his thunderous voice， "Look here， you rascal， I trust that to you I shall always be Monsieur le Comte ！" -This shows to what extent new theories are admitted into an aristocratic brain. They occupy the whole of the upper story， and there， with a pleasing murmur， they weave the web of interminable conversation； their buzzing lasts throughout the century； never have the drawing-rooms seen such an outpouring of fine sentences and of fine words. Something of all this drops from the upper to the lower story， if only as dust， I mean to say， hope， faith in the future， belief in Reason， a love of truth， the generous and youthful good intentions， the enthusiasm that quickly passes but which may， for a while， become self-abnegation and devotion.

IV. UNBELIEF.

The diffusion among the upper class. - Progress of incredulity in religion. - Its causes.- It breaks out under the Regency. -Increasing irritation against the clergy. - Materialism in the drawing-room. - Estimate of the sciences. - Final opinion on religion. - Skepticism of the higher clergy.

Let us follow the progress of philosophy in the upper class.

Religion is the first to receive the severest attacks. The small group of skeptics， which is hardly perceptible under Louis XIV， has obtained its recruits in the dark； in 1698 the Palatine， the mother of the Regent， writes that "we scarcely meet a young man now who is not ambitious of being an atheist."[15] Under the Regency， unbelief comes out into open daylight. "I doubt，" says this lady again， in 1722， "if； in all Paris， a hundred individuals can be found， either ecclesiastics or laymen， who have any true faith， or even believe in our Lord. It makes one tremble. . . ." The position of an ecclesiastic in society is already difficult. He is looked upon， apparently， as either a puppet or a dickey (a false shirt front)[16].

"The moment we appear，" says one of them， "we are forced into discussion； we are called upon to prove， for example， the utility of prayer to an unbeliever in God， and the necessity of fasting to a man who has all his life denied the immortality of the soul； the effort is very irksome， while those who laugh are not on our side." It is not long before the continued scandal of confession tickets and the stubbornness of the bishops in not allowing ecclesiastical property to be taxed， excites opinion against the clergy， and， as a matter of course， against religion itself. "There is danger，" says Barbier in 1751， "that this may end seriously； we may some day see a revolution in this country in favor of Protestantism."[17] "The hatred against the priests，" writes d'Argenson in 1753， "is carried to extremes.

They scarcely show themselves in the streets without being hooted at.

. . .As our nation and our century are quite otherwise enlightened (than in the time of Luther)， it will be carried far enough； they will expel the priests， abolish the priesthood and get rid of all revelation and all mystery. . . . One dare not speak in behalf of the clergy in social circles； one is scoffed at and regarded as a familiar of the inquisition. The priests remark that， this year， there is a diminution of more than one-third in the number of communicants. The College of the Jesuits is being deserted； one hundred and twenty boarders have been withdrawn from these so greatly defamed monks. It has been observed also that， during the carnival in Paris， the number of masks counterfeiting ecclesiastical dress， bishops， abbés， monks and nuns， was never so great." - So deep is this antipathy， the most mediocre books become the rage so long as they are anti-Christian and condemned as such. In 1748 a work by Toussaint called "Les Moeurs，" in favor of natural religion， suddenly becomes so famous， "that there is no one among a certain class of people，" writes Barbier， "man or woman， pretending to be intellectual， who is not eager to read it." People accost each other on their promenades， Have you read "Les Moeurs"？ - Ten years later they are beyond deism."Materialism，" Barbier further said， "is the great grievance. . . . " "Almost all people of erudition and taste， writes d'Argenson， "inveigh against our holy religion. . . .