第780章

Among the notables of every degree just described， most of them， in 1789， were fully grown men， many of them mature， a goodly number advanced in years， and some quite aged； consequently， in justification of his rank and emoluments， or of his gains and his fortune， each could allege fifteen， twenty， thirty and forty years of labor and honorability in private or public situations， the grand-vicar of the diocese as well as the chief-clerk of the ministry， the intendant of the généralité as well as the president of the royal tribunal， the village curé， the noble officer， the office-holder， the lawyer， the procureur， the large manufacturer， the wholesale dealer， as well as the well-to-do farmer， and the well-known handicraftsman. - Thus， not only were they an élite corps， the most valuable portion of the nation， the best timber of the forest， but again， the wood of each branch belonged to that trunk； it grew there， and was the product of its own vegetation； it sprung out of the trunk wholly through the unceasing and spontaneous effort of the native sap， through time-honored and recent labor， and， on this account， it merited respect. -Through a double onslaught， at once against each human branch and against the entire French forest， the Jacobin wood-choppers seek to clear the ground. Their theory results in this precept， that not one of the noble trees of this forest， not one valuable trunk from the finest oak to the smallest sapling， should be left standing.

VII. Principle of socialist Equality.

All superiorities of rank are illegitimate. - Bearing of this principle. - Incivique benefits and enjoyments. - How revolutionary laws reach the lower class. - Whole populations affected in a mass.

- proportion of the lowly in the proscription lists. How the revolutionary laws specially affect those who are prominent among the people.

Not that the ravages which they make stop there！ The principle extended far beyond that. The fundamental rule， according to Jacobin maxims， is that every public or private advantage which any citizen enjoys and which is not enjoyed by another citizen， is illegitimate.

- On Vent？se 19， year II.， Henriot， general in command， having surrounded the Palais Royal and made a sweep of "suspects，" renders an account of his expedition as follows：[87] "One hundred and thirty muscadins have been arrested. . . . These gentlemen are transferred to the Petits-Pêres. Being well-fed and plump， they cannot be sans-culottes." Henriot was right， for， to live well is incivique. Whoever lays in stores of provisions is criminal， even if he has gone a good ways for them， even if he has not overpaid the butcher of his quarter， even if he has not diminished by an ounce of meat the ration of his neighbor； when he is found out， he is punished and his hoard confiscated. "A citizen[88] had a little pig brought to him from a place six leagues from Paris， and killed it at once. Three hours afterwards， the pig was seized by commissioners and distributed among the people， without the owner getting a bit of it；" moreover， the said owner "was imprisoned." - He is a monopolist！ To Jacobin people， to empty stomachs， there is no greater crime； this misdeed， to their imaginations， explains the arrest of Hébert， their favorite： "It is said at the Halle (the covered Paris market)[89] that he has monopolized a brother of the order of Saint-Antoine[90] as well as a pot of twenty-five pounds of Brittany butter，" which is enough； they immediately and "unanimously consign Père Duchesne to the guillotine."(Note that the Père Duchesne， founded by Hébert， was the most radical and revolutionary journal. (SR.) - Of all privileges， accordingly， that of having a supply of food is the most offensive； "it is now necessary for one who has two dishes to give one of them to him who has none；"[91] every man who manages to eat more than another is a robber； for， in the first place， he robs the community， the sole legitimate owner of aliments， and next， he robs， and personally， all who have less to eat than he has.

The same rule applies to other things of which the possession is either agreeable or useful： in an equalizing social system， that now established， every article of food possessed by one individual to the exclusion of others， is a dish abstracted from the common table and held by him to another's detriment. On the strength of this， the theorists who govern agree with the reigning ragamuffins. Whoever has two good coats is an aristocrat， for there are many who have only one poor one.[92] Whoever has good shoes is an aristocrat， for many wear wooden ones， and others go barefoot. Whoever owns and rents lodgings is an aristocrat， for others， his tenants， instead of receiving money， pay it out. The tenant who furnishes his own rooms is an aristocrat， for many lodge in boarding-houses and others sleep in the open air.