第666章

with whip in hand， lashed his Muscovite bears and made them drill and dance in European fashion； but were bears accustomed from father to son to the whip and chain； moreover， he stood as the orthodox head of their faith， and left their mir (the village commune) untouched. -Finally， at the other extremity of Europe， and even outside of Europe， in the seventh century the caliph， in the fifteenth century a sultan， a Mahomet or an Omar， a fanatical Arab or brutal Turk， who had just overcome Christians with the sword， himself assigned the limits of his own absolutism： if the vanquished were reduced to the condition of heavily ransomed tributaries and of inferiors daily humiliated， he allowed them their worship， civil laws and domestic usages； he left them their institutions， their convents and their schools； he allowed them to administer the affairs of their own community as they pleased under the jurisdiction of their patriarch， or other natural chieftains. - Thus whatever the tyrant may have been， he did not attempt to entirely recast Man， nor to subject all his subjects to the recasting. However penetrating the tyranny， it stopped in the soul at a certain point； that point reached， the sentiments were left free.

No matter how comprehensive this tyranny may have been， it affected only one class of men； the others， outside the net， remained free.

When it wounded all at once all sensitive chords， it did so only to a limited minority， unable to defend themselves. As far as the majority， able to protect itself， their main sensibilities were respected， especially the most sensitive， this one or that one， as the case might be， now the conscience which binds man to his religion， now that amour-propre on which honor depends， and now the habits which make man cling to customs， hereditary usages and outward observances.

As far as the others were concerned， those which relate to property， personal welfare， and social position， it proceeded cautiously and with moderation. In this way the discretion of the ruler lessened the resistance of the subject， and a daring enterprise， even mischievous， was not outrageous； it might be carried out； nothing was required but a force in hand equal to the resistance it provoked.

Again， and on the other hand， the tyrant possessed this force. Very many and very strong arms stood behind the prince ready to cooperate with him and countervail any resistance. - Behind Philip II. or Louis XIV. ready to drive the dissidents out or at least to consent to their oppression， stood the Catholic majority， as fanatical or as illiberal as their king. Behind Philip II.， Louis XIV.， Frederick II.， and Peter the Great， stood the entire nation， equally violent， rallied around the sovereign through his consecrated title and uncontested right， through tradition and custom， through a rigid sentiment of duty and the vague idea of public security. - Peter the Great counted among his auxiliaries every eminent and cultivated man in the country； Cromwell had his disciplined and twenty-times victorious army； the caliph or sultan brought along with him his military and privileged population. - Aided by cohorts of this stamp， it was easy to raise a heavy mass， and even maintain it in a fixed position. Once the operation was concluded there followed a sort of equilibrium； the mass， kept in the air by a permanent counterbalance， only required a little daily effort to prevent it from falling.

It is just the opposite with the Jacobin enterprise. When it is put into operation， the theory， more exacting， adds an extra weight to the uplifted mass， and， finally， a burden of almost infinite weight. - At first， the Jacobin confined his attacks to royalty， to nobility， to the Church， to parliaments， to privileges， to ecclesiastical and feudal possessions， in short， to medieval foundations. Then he attacks yet more ancient and more solid foundations， positive religion， property and the family. - For four years he has been satisfied with demolition and now he wants to construct. His object is not merely to do away with a positive faith and suppress social inequality， to proscribe revealed dogmas， hereditary beliefs， an established cult， the supremacy of rank and superiority of fortunes， wealth， leisure， refinement and elegance， but he wants， in addition to all this， to re-fashion the citizen. He wants to create new sentiments， impose natural religion on the individual， civic education， uniform ways and habits， Jacobin conduct， Spartan virtue；in short， nothing is to be left in a human being that is not prescribed， enforced and constrained. - Henceforth， there is opposed to the Revolution， not alone the partisans of the ancient régime -priests， nobles， parliamentarians， royalists， and Catholics - but， again， every person imbued with European civilization， every member of a regular family， any possessor of a capital， large or small； every kind or degree of proprietor， farmer， manufacturer， merchant， artisan or farmer， even most of the revolutionaries. Nearly all the revolutionaries count on escaping the constraints they impose， and who only like the strait jacket when it is on another's back. - The influence of resistant wills at this moment becomes incalculable： it would be easier to raise a mountain， and， just at this moment， the Jacobins have deprived themselves of every moral force through which a political engineer acts on human wills.

Unlike Philip II. and Louis XIV. they are not supported by the intolerance of a vast majority， for， instead of fifteen or twenty orthodox against one heretic， they count in their church scarcely more than one orthodox against fifteen or twenty heretics.[21] - They are not， like legitimate sovereigns， supported by the stubborn loyalty of an entire population， following in the steps of its chieftain out of the prestige of hereditary right and through habits of ancient fealty.