第42章

The same sentiments prevail among the lower clergy， and still more actively； for they are excluded from the high offices， not only as inferiors， but also as commoner.[23] Already， in 1766， the Marquis de Mirabeau writes： "It would be an insult to most of our pretentious ecclesiastics to offer them a curacy. Revenues and honors are for the abbés-commendatory， for tonsured beneficiaries not in orders， for the numerous chapters (of nobility)." On the contrary， "the true pastors of souls， the collaborators in the holy ministry， scarcely obtain a subsistence." The first class "drawn from the nobility and from the best of the bourgeoisie have pretensions only， without being of the true ministry. The other， only having duties to fulfill without expectations and almost without income . . . can be recruited only from the lowest ranks of civil society，" while the parasites who despoil the laborers "affect to subjugate them and to degrade them more and more." "I pity，" said Voltaire， "the lot of a country curate， obliged to contend for a sheaf of wheat with his unfortunate parishioner， to plead against him， to exact the tithe of peas and lentils， to waste his miserable existence in constant strife. . . . Ipity still more the curate with a fixed allowance to whom monks， called gros decimateurs[24] dare offer a salary of forty ducats， to go about during the year， two or three miles from his home， day and night， in sunshine and in rain， in the snow and in the ice， exercising the most trying and most disagreeable functions." Attempts are made for thirty years to secure their salaries and raise them a little； in case of their inadequacy the beneficiary， collator or tithe-owner of the parish is required to add to them until the curê obtains 500livres (1768)， then 700 livres (1785)， the vicar 200 livres (1768)， then 250 (1778)， and finally 350 (1785). Strictly， at the prices at which things are， a man may support himself on that.[25] But he must live among the destitute to whom he owes alms， and he cherishes at the bottom of his heart a secret bitterness towards the indolent Dives who， with full pockets， dispatches him， with empty pockets， on a mission of charity. At Saint-Pierre de Barjouville， in the Toulousain， the archbishop of Toulouse appropriates to himself one-half of the tithes and gives away eight livres a year in alms. At Bretx， the chapter of Isle Jourdain， which retains one-half of certain tithes and three-quarters of others， gives ten livres； at Croix Falgarde， the Benedictines， to whom a half of the tithes belong， give ten livres per annum.[26] At Sainte-Croix de Bernay in Normandy，[27] the non-resident abbé， who receives 57，000 livres gives 1，050 livres to the curate without a parsonage， whose parish contains 4，000 communicants.

At Saint-Aubin-sur-Gaillon， the abbé， a gros décimateur， gives 350livres to the vicar， who is obliged to go into the village and obtain contributions of flour， bread and apples. At Plessis Hébert， "the substitute deportuaire，[28] not having enough to live on is obliged to get his meals in the houses of neighboring curates." In Artois， where the tithes are often seven and a half and eight per cent. on he product of the soil， a number of curates have a fixed rate and no parsonage； their church goes to ruin and the beneficiary gives nothing to the poor. "At Saint-Laurent， in Normandy， the curacy is worth not more than 400 livres， which the curate shares with an obitier，[29]