The cold began to be felt at the end of October 1708, on the evening of the Feast of the Apostles Saint Simon and Jude, 28 October 1708. The wind shifted to the north, the rain that had been falling all day long turned into ice and snow, and one saw therein a warning of what was to happen later on because the snow, having frozen in the trees, weighed on them so heavily that branches as heavy as men were seen to succumb under the burden and fall to the ground, and I am an eyewitness that most of the oak trees of the parish were badly damaged.
Nothing withstood this cold; many men died of it, but to tell the truth not in the immediate vicinity; almost no birds remained; partridge were taken by hand or were found dead, together with other game, either as a result of the cold or because the ground was always covered with snow. But if only that had been the greatest evil! Wheat died and vines dried up; none of the large trees, neither the oaks nor the fruit trees, could withstand it; and the chestnut and walnut trees were especially ill treated. When one had confidence to venture out, one could hear the oaks breaking apart, and I have seen some open to a width of three fingers from top to bottom.
Finally, after three weeks of this cold, which increased continually, the thaw came. Its sad effects were not yet known. Work was begun on the vines in the usual manner, but this soon became impossible because the cold began again at the start of Lent toward the middle of February and lasted fifteen days in the same violent manner. The sun, however, was stronger and made the cold more bearable to men during the day, but much more damaging to what remained of the produce of the earth, which could not resist the terrible nights that caused almost everything to die, so that it was scarcely possible to gather enough to provide for next year's seed.
Wheat was soon at 28 livres the septier, and wine at 100 francs the pipe. It was hardly possible even for those who knew how, to find money, when there wasn't any. The number of poor people increased incredibly because the continuing rains of the previous year, 1708, had been very bad and had damaged the grain crops. . . . The poor of the countryside were destitute of any aid, no longer possessing a cabbage or a leek in their gardens, so they crowded into the cities to take part in the liberalities of the inhabitants, which were very considerable, at least in Nantes—for I cannot speak of other cities.
But they were soon begrudged the only help they had. They were forced, by the threat of great penalties, to return to their homes, and there soon appeared the most beautiful edicts in the world to help them, which, however, served only to increase their misfortune. Each parish was supposed to feed its own poor; but for this it would have been necessary for the poor to feed the poor. So these lovely edicts were without effect, and the only way to help the poor, by decreasing the taxes with which they were burdened, was never put into practice. On the contrary, they were increased.
Duport: I have one very short observation to make to the Assembly, which appears to be of the highest importance and which demands all its attention. You have regulated by the Constitution, Sirs, the qualities deemed necessary to become a French citizen, and an active citizen: that sufficed, I believe, to regulate all the incidental questions that could have been raised in the Assembly relative to certain professions, to certain persons. But there is a decree of adjournment that seems to strike a blow at these general rights: I speak of the Jews. To decide the question that concerns them, it suffices to lift the decree of adjournment that you have rendered and which seems to suspend the question in their regard. Thus, if you had not rendered a decree of adjournment on the question of the Jews, it would not have been necessary to do anything; for, having declared by your Constitution how all peoples of the earth could become French citizens and how all French citizens could become active citizens, there would have been no difficulty on this subject.
I ask therefore that the decree of adjournment be revoked and that it be declared relative to the Jews that they will be able to become active citizens, like all the peoples of the world, by fulfilling the conditions prescribed by the Constitution. I believe that freedom of worship no longer permits any distinction to be made between the political rights of citizens on the basis of their beliefs and I believe equally that the Jews cannot be the only exceptions to the enjoyment of these rights, when pagans, Turks, Muslims, Chinese even, men of all the sects, in short, are admitted to these rights.
Decree of the National Assembly, 27 September 1791:
The National Assembly, considering that the conditions necessary to be a French citizen and to become an active citizen are fixed by the Constitution, and that every man meeting the said conditions, who swears the civic oath, and engages himself to fulfill all the duties that the Constitution imposes, has the right to all of the advantages that the Constitution assures;
Revokes all adjournments, reservations, and exceptions inserted into the preceding decrees relative to Jewish individuals who will swear the civic oath which will be regarded as a renunciation of all the privileges and exceptions introduced previously in their favor.
CONSTITUTIONAL ACT OF THE REPUBLIC
The French Republic is one and indivisible.
ON CITIZENSHIP
The following are admitted to exercise the rights of French citizenship:
Every man born and domiciled in France, fully twenty-one years of age;
Every foreigner, fully twenty-one years of age, who, domiciled in France for one year:
And lives there by his labor,
Or acquires property,
Or marries a French woman,
Or adopts a child,
Or supports an elderly person;
Finally, every foreigner who is considered by the legislative body to be deserving of being treated humanely.
The exercise of the rights of citizenship is lost:
By naturalization in a foreign country;
By the acceptance of offices or favors emanating from a government that is not of the people;
By sentencing with punishments that are dishonorable or strip the party of his civil rights, until rehabilitation.
The exercise of the rights of citizenship is suspended:
By status of indictment;
By sentencing in absentia, until such sentence is revoked.
ON POPULAR SOVEREIGNTY
Popular sovereignty includes all French citizens.
It directly appoints its deputies.
It delegates to its electors the choice of administrators, public arbiters, and judges for criminal and appellate courts.
It deliberates upon the law.
ON NATIONAL REPRESENTATION
Population is the sole basis of national representation.
There shall be one deputy for every 40,000 individuals.
Every grouping of the primary assemblies, with a population of between 39,000 and 41,000 inhabitants, shall directly elect one deputy.
The election is decided by absolute majority.
Every assembly shall count the votes, and shall send a commissioner to the most central location for the general count.
If the first return does not produce an absolute majority, a second roll call shall be held, and a vote taken between the two citizens who have obtained the most votes.
In case of a tie, the elder shall have the choice, either to hold another vote or to be declared the winner. In the case where both citizens are of equal age, the decision shall be made by lot.
Every Frenchman who enjoys the rights of citizenship is eligible throughout the entire Republic.
Every deputy belongs to the whole nation.
In case of the nonacceptance, resignation, forfeiture, or death of a deputy, the primary assemblies that elected him shall provide for his replacement.
A deputy who has proffered his resignation may not leave his post until after the swearing in of his successor.
The French people shall assemble annually, on the 1st of May, to hold elections.
They shall proceed thereto, regardless of how many citizens have the right to vote.
The primary assemblies shall meet in extraordinary session upon the request of one-fifth of the citizens who have the right to vote in that district.
In such cases, the town council of the usual place of assembly shall conduct the convocation.
Such extraordinary sessions shall deliberate only when one-half plus one of the citizens who have the right to vote in that district are present.
ON SESSIONS OF THE LEGISLATIVE BODY
Sessions of the National Assembly shall be public.
The minutes of its sessions shall be printed.
It may only deliberate if at least 200 members are present.
Its members must be granted permission to speak, in the order in which they requested it.
Its decisions shall be determined by majority vote.
ON THE FUNCTIONS OF THE LEGISLATIVE BODY
The Legislative Body shall propose laws and render decrees.
Included under the general title of "law" are acts of the Legislative Body concerning:
Civil and criminal legislation;
General administration of the revenues and ordinary expenditures of the Republic;
State property;
The standard, weight, stamp, and denomination of monies;
The nature, amount, and collection of taxes;
The declaration of war;
Every new general distribution of French territory;
Public schooling;
Public honors in memory of great men.
ON THE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL
There shall be an Executive Council composed of twenty-four members.
The Electoral College of each and every department shall appoint a candidate. The Legislative Body shall select the members of the council from the general list.
One-half of the members shall be replaced during the final months of every legislative session.
The council shall be responsible for the management and supervision of the civil administration, and may act only to execute the laws of decrees of the Legislative Body.
It shall appoint, from outside its own body, the executives of the civil administration of the Republic.
ON ADMINISTRATIVE AND MUNICIPAL BODIES
In each and every commune of the Republic there shall be a municipal administration;
In each and every district, there shall be an intermediate administration;
In each and every department, there shall be a central administration.
The municipal officials shall be elected by the communal assemblies.
The administrators shall be appointed by the electoral colleges of the departments and districts.
One-half of the municipalities and administrations shall be renewed annually.
The administration and municipal officials shall have no representational role.
They may not, under any circumstances, alter the acts of the Legislative Body nor stop their execution.
The Legislative Body shall determine the duties of the municipal officials and administrators, the rules governing their subordination, and the penalties they may incur.
Sessions of the municipalities and administrations shall be public.
ON CIVIL JUSTICE
The code of civil and criminal laws shall be uniform throughout the Republic.
No infringement may be made upon the right of citizens to have arbitrators of their own choice pass judgment on their disagreements.
The decision of such arbitrators shall be final, unless the citizens have reserved the right to protest.
There shall be justices of the peace, elected by the citizens in districts determined by law.
They shall reconcile and judge without charge.
Their numbers and abilities shall be regulated by the Legislative Body.
There shall be public arbitrators elected by the electoral colleges.
ON CRIMINAL JUSTICE
In criminal matters citizens may be judged only upon an indictment received by juries or decreed by the Legislative Body.
The accused shall have council, chosen by themselves or appointed by the court.
Inquiries shall be public.
Facts and intents shall be declared by a trial jury.
The penalty shall be imposed by a criminal court.
Criminal judges shall be elected annually by the electoral colleges.
ON PUBLIC TAXES
No citizen is exempt from the honorable obligation of contributing to public expenses.
ON NATIONAL CONVENTIONS
If, in one-half of the departments plus one, one-tenth of the regularly constituted primary assemblies requests the revision of a Constitutional Act or the amendment of some of its articles, the Legislative Body shall be required to convoke all the primary assemblies of the Republic to ascertain if there are grounds for a National Convention.
ON THE RELATIONS OF THE FRENCH REPUBLIC WITH FOREIGN NATIONS
The French people are the friends and natural allies of free peoples.
They do not interfere in the government of other nations; nor do they permit other nations to interfere in theirs.
They give asylum to foreigners who, in the name of liberty, are banished from their homelands, and refuse it to tyrants.
They do not make peace with an enemy who is occupying their territory.
ON THE GUARANTEE OF RIGHTS
The Constitution guarantees all Frenchmen equality, liberty, security, property, public debt, freedom of worship, public schooling, public relief, unrestricted freedom of the press, the right to assemble in groups, and the enjoyment of all the rights of man.
The French Republic respects loyalty, courage, the elderly, filial piety, and misfortune. It entrusts its Constitution to the care of all the virtues.
The Declaration of Rights and the Constitutional Act shall be engraved on tablets and placed in the midst of the Legislative Body and in public places.
2 February 1766
Sire,
The good of Your MajestyÕs service, the interests of your justice and your authority, and the salvation of the State, all make it imperative for your parlement to convey to Your Majesty the just protest of the magistracy crushed by continuous illegal acts, the last of which clearly reveals the use of absolute power, the subversion of the lawÕs authority, and the open infraction of the most sacred rights of the State. . . . New orders have formed a body of commissioners at Saint-Malo responsible for continuing the prosecution of this same case against the members of the parlement sitting at Rennes.
If the criminal impulses of the enemies of the magistracy, secret enemies of the State and of Your Majesty, can prevail to such a point that magistrates can be tried before commissioners, then all rights of station and dignity are henceforth trampled underfoot, and are, from then on, extinguished in the kingdom. . . .
Sire, if this law can be broken, all hierarchy by birth and distinction, all bodies, all ranks, all dignities must henceforth fear the imperious force of absolute power. They then must watch with terror each movement of a small number of persons who, at a word, are transported to the farthest extremities of the kingdom, transformed into a tribunal, placed into action, suspended and made to disappear, but who, in a new disguise, are placed immediately in possession of the sole power to which all the legitimately established powers in the state would be subordinated.
Sire, your parlement has already shown Your Majesty the contradiction that the establishment of these commissions have with the laws of the state, the injuries they cause to the security of the citizens, the impressions of fear and terror which they arouse in the citizens' minds, and the slow but inevitable deterioration they would cause to even the authority of the sovereign, whose principal strength is closely bound to the love of his subjects and their confidence in his justice. . . .
Of all sorts of madness this appears to be the worst: for, whereas the generality of madmen reason right from wrong principles; these people are for the most part wrong both in their fundamentals and in their deductions from them, representing murder, gun-powder-plots, &c. as innocent under the masque of religion and pious zeal. Hence the enterprize of the fryar, who murdered Henry the third of France; hence Ravaillac stabbed Henry the fourth, and hence another assassin has made an execrable attempt upon Lewis [Louis] the XVth.
The name of this enthusiastical assassin is Robert Francis Damien, born in St. Catherine's suburb in the city of Arras; he is 42 years of age, and about five feet seven inches high. He had lived in the service of several families, but was turned off by all of them with the character of a loose profligate. His occupation of late has been to sell balls to take spots out of cloaths; and yet from this mean and contemptible station in life hath this lunatic dared to walk forth, and attempt to deprive a whole nation of their sovereign's life.
He was a very superstitious enthusiastical sort of a man, and therefore a very proper tool or cat's-paw for the Romish priests to work upon. What horrid crimes are committed under the sanction of religion! The artful popish clergy had worked him up to such a pitch of enthusiasm; that, faint-like, he was proud to die in so glorious a cause, imagining his meritorious sufferings would certainly procure him a residence in heaven.
The king was supported by the counte de Brionne and the matter of the horse, who were leading him to his coach, a page of the bed-chamber walked before him with lights; the dauphin was behind him along with the duke d'Ayen, captain of the guards in waiting, and several exempts and equerries followed. A footman, named Selim, near whom the assassin stood, seeing the king approach, said to the villain, why don't you take off your hat, don't you see the king? While he was saying this, the monster struck the king with a knife, which had two blades of different sizes; with one of these blades he wounded the king between the fourth and fifth rib, but the stroke glanced to the right side, and most fortunately did not reach the bowels. The king, who at first had scarce felt any thing, then turning to the footman who had just bid the fellow take off his hat, said, looking at the assassin, that man has given me a terrible blow; and clapping his hand to the place where he had been struck, and feeling it warm, he drew back his hand all bloody, and said, I am wounded, seize him, but do not hurt him.
Whatever may be the sallies of this monarch's private life, he certainly has publick virtue, and therefore his mind must soon have rested in a conviction that he did not deserve an assault upon his life.
Certainly there appears somewhat providential in the escape the king had from this treasonable design. It happened, that on that day, besides his usual cloathing, he put on a sur-tout of thick velvet, which no doubt greatly obstructed the blow, and hundred the wound from proving mortal.
The execrable assassin, after striking this horrid blow, never stirred from the place, and the duke d'Ayen having asked which was the man, the fellow answered with the countenance of a Ravaillac. "Tis I." He was seized and led to the guardroom, which stands at the gate from whence he had just come out. There he was stripped to his shirt, and there were found about him the knife, a New Testament, some images, and between thirty and thirty-five Louis d'Ors.
The trial of the villain was agreed to be committed to the parliament; and the people in general began to rid themselves of their anxiety, when it was reported abroad, that the stab was no more than a common wound, and that his majesty wanted but a few days to recover his strength, which was somewhat reduced by being bled so plentifully after the wound was given.
Damien appears very resolute; his feet have been scorched, and the calf of his leg pinched with red hot tongs. He shrieked indeed, but confessed nothing. He was afterwards carried to prison, and chained in a dungeon, and guards set over him.
He was asked if he had any accomplices, and answered he had, but was sure they had escaped before this time, but that great care ought to be taken of the dauphin, otherwise the like accident might, perhaps, befall him soon. When he was urged to discover more, he answered, he would speak when it was time; that he was very sensible he deserved death, and begged it might be hastened.
The wife and daughter of Damien were sent to the Bastille, in hopes that some discoveries would be made. Nothing however of consequence has come to light from them; though they freely told all they knew of the abominable life and conversation of this monster.
It is reported that there was great commotions in Paris; that several religious houses were shut up, to prevent cabals among the clergy, and that the archbishop of Paris was publickly accused of being at the bottom of this atrocious design; but these givings out have since totally vanished for want of any kind of confirmation.
His majesty was not ill for any considerable length of time: it appears that on the 14th of the same month the wound, which he had received on the 5th, was quite healed, and his health restored, insomuch that he assumed the reins of government, which had been entrusted to the dauphin; whose conduct, during his short administration, gave such satisfaction to the king, that he ordered he should for the future attend at all the councils of state.
But before he parted from Versailles, he begged to speak with the king and the dauphin, in hopes that notwithstanding the heinousness of his crime he might still obtain mercy from his majesty's known good nature and lenity. He was much surprized when they put him into a vehicle in order to convey him to the Conciergerie. He said he had many things to reveal, but was told he must discover them to his judges.
To Citizen Fréron, Government agent.
Citizen,
Citizen Bouisson, the Widow Janniquet, with full confidence in the justice you represent, shall describe for you how, on 22 Brumaire [12 November 1794] of last year [Year III], she had stopped at the district's administrative board on a matter concerning some farmland. She had spared no expense on this nation's asset in order to keep it in good condition and to produce an abundant harvest. At that point, Citizen Augustin Baux, émigré and former owner of the house prior to his fleeing the country, took advantage of the law of 22 Germinal [11 April 1795] and 22 Prairial [10 June 1795] which allows workers, seamen, sailors, bakers, and health officials to return to the territory of the republic. He had learned, through plotting and subterfuge, how to change his profession from being a merchant in wholesale cloth, to being a health official. Under this spurious pretext, he was able to give the illusion of being a member of this occupation. Through bribes, he was wrongly and without basis struck from the record. He then attacked our speaker, the Widow Janniquet, bringing her before the arbitration committee, which sent her to the district court. His claims went so far as to demand half of the harvest. [After his request was rejected], she was left in peace for a brief period. However, Citizen Baux again appealed to the same court, which, this time, judged in favor of this émigré, granting him not just half the harvest, but all of this year's crop. As a result, he had the olives seized that the aforementioned Citizen Janniquet had had taken to a mill to have pitted. Upon seeing herself deprived of an asset that she believed to have been legitimately due and accorded to her by this unforeseen and arbitrary bureaucratic stroke, she now turns to you for recourse to obtain the restoration of the above-mentioned olives which are rightfully hers. Imbued with the humanity and justice that are the tenets of your work, she hopes that you will look kindly upon her lawful claim.
Sincerely in brotherhood,
Signed Thérèse Bouisson, the widow Janniquet.
Sire:
To discover whether it is expedient to establish municipalities in those cantons of France where they do not exist, whether it is necessary to improve or change those already in existence, and how to constitute those it is deemed necessary to create does not involve going back to the origin of municipal administrations, giving an historical account of the vicissitudes they have undergone, or even analyzing in great detail the diverse forms they exhibit today. In deciding what must be done in serious matters, it has been much too frequent a practice to revert to the examination and example of what our ancestors did in times of ignorance and barbarism. This method serves only to lead justice astray in the multiplicity of facts presented as precedents; and it tends to make princes disgusted with their most important functions, by persuading them that it is necessary to be prodigiously learned in order to discharge these functions with success and glory. However, it is really only necessary to understand thoroughly and to weigh carefully the rights and interests of men. These rights and interests are not very numerous, so that the science which comprises them, based upon the principles of justice that each of us bears in our heart, and on the intimate conviction of our own sensations has a very great degree of certainty and yet is not at all extensive. It does not require the effort of long study, nor is it beyond the capabilities of any man of good will. . . .
This nation is numerous. That it obey is not everything. It is necessary to make sure that it can be commanded effectively. In order to succeed in this, it would first seem necessary to know, in fairly great detail, the nation's situation, its needs, its capabilities. This knowledge would doubtless be more useful than historical accounts of past positions. . . .
The cause of the evil, Sire, stems from the fact that your nation has no constitution. It is a society composed of different orders badly united, and of a people among whose members there are but very few social ties. In consequence, each individual is occupied only with his own particular, exclusive interest; and almost no one bothers to fulfill his duties or to know his relationship to others. As a result, there is a perpetual war of claims and counterclaims which reason and mutual understanding have never regulated, in which Your Majesty is obliged to decide everything personally or through your agents. Everyone insists on your special orders to contribute to the public good, to respect the goods of others, sometimes even to make use of his own goods. You are forced to decree on everything, in most cases by particular acts of will, whereas you could govern like God by general laws if the various parts composing your realm had a regular organization and clearly established relationship.
Your realm is made up of provinces. These provinces are composed of cantons or districts which (depending on the province) are called bailliages, e'lections, vigueries, or some other such name. These districts are made up of a certain number of towns and villages, which are in turn inhabited by families. To them belong the lands which yield products, provide for the livelihood of the inhabitants, and furnish the revenues from which salaries are paid to those without land and taxes are levied to meet public expenditures. The families, finally, are composed of individuals, who have many duties to fulfill towards one another and towards society, duties justified in terms of the benefits they have received, and which they continue to receive daily.
But individuals are educated poorly regarding their duties within the family and not at all regarding those which link them to the state.
Families themselves scarcely know that they depend on this state, of which they form a part: they have no idea of the nature of their relationship to it. They consider the levying of the taxes required for the maintenance of public order as nothing but the law of the strongest; and they see no other reason to obey than their powerlessness to resist. As a result, everyone seeks to cheat the authorities and to pass social obligations on to his neighbors. Incomes are concealed and can only be discovered very imperfectly by a kind of inquisition which would lead one to say that Your Majesty is at war with your people. And in this type of war which, were it only apparent, would always be destructive and deadly, no one has an interest in taking the government's part, and anyone who did so would be regarded with hostility. There is no public spirit because there is no known and visible common interest. The villages and towns, whose members are thus disunited, have no more links between them in the districts to which they belong. They are unable to get together on any of the public works that might be necessary for them. The same applies to the various divisions of the provinces, and to the provinces themselves in relation to the realm as a whole.
Some of these provinces do, however, have a kind of constitution, assemblies, a sort of public will; they are called pays d'Etats. But since these Estates are composed of orders with very diverse claims, and with interests that are very separate one from another and from that of the nation, they are still far from producing all the good to be desired for the provinces in which they form part of the administration.
These local half-benefits are perhaps an evil; provinces enjoying them are less sensitive to the necessity for reform. But Your Majesty can bring them to recognize that necessity by giving the other provinces, which have no constitution at all, a constitution better organized than that which at present makes the pays d'Etats so full of pride. It is by means of example, Sire, that they can be brought to desire that your power authorize them to change what is defective in their present form.
In order to dissipate this spirit of disunity, which vastly increases the work of your servants and of Your Majesty, and which necessarily and prodigiously diminishes your power; in order to substitute instead a spirit of order and union which would mobilize the forces and means of your nation for the common good, gathering them together in your hand and making them easy to direct, it would be necessary to conceive of a plan that would link individuals to their families, families to the village or town to which they belong, towns and villages to the district of which they form part, districts to their province, and provinces finally to the state. This plan would involve instruction that would be compelling, a common interest, deliberating about it and acting according to it. . . .
The Means of Preparing Individuals and Families to Enter Effectively into a Well-Constituted Society
The first and perhaps the most important of all the institutions which I would believe necessary, Sire, that which would seem to me the most fitting to immortalize Your Majesty's reign and which would have the greatest influence on the kingdom as a whole, would be the formation of a council on national instruction responsible for the direction of the academies, universities, and secondary and elementary schools.
The first bond of nations is custom; the first foundation of custom is the instruction received from childhood regarding all the duties of man in society. It is astonishing that this science is so little advanced. There are methods and institutions for training grammarians, mathematicians, doctors, painters. There are none for training citizens. There would be, if national instruction were directed by one of Your Majesty's councils, in the public interest and according to uniform principles.
There would be no need for this council to be very large, because it would be necessary for it to be united in spirit. In accordance with this spirit, it would commission textbooks systematically planned and written in such a way that one would lead to another, and that the study of the duties of the citizen, as member of a family and of the state, would be the basis for all other studies, which would be organized in relation to their usefulness to society.
This council would supervise the entire organization of education and it could render literary bodies useful for that purpose. The present efforts of these bodies tend only to create savants, poets, men of wit and taste; those unable to aspire to this goal are neglected and count for nothing. A new system of education, which can only be established by Your Majesty's entire authority, seconded by a well-chosen council, would lead to the formation, among all classes of society, of virtuous and useful men, just souls, pure hearts, and zealous citizens. Those among them who then wished to devote themselves particularly to sciences and letters, and were capable of doing so, would be diverted from frivolous matters by the importance of the first principles which they had received, and would approach their work in a more vigorous and determined spirit. Taste itself would improve, as would the national tone: it would become more serious and more elevated, but, above all, more concerned with virtuous things. This would be the fruit of the uniformity of patriotic attitudes that the council on instruction would disseminate in all the teaching given to youth.
There is at present only one type of instruction that has any uniformity: religious instruction. Even here, this uniformity is not complete. Textbooks vary from one diocese to another; the Paris catechism is not the same as the Montpellier catechism, and neither is identical to that of Besancon. This diversity of textbooks is unavoidable in an educational system that has several independent heads. The instruction organized by your council on instruction would not have that drawback. It would be all the more necessary in that religious instruction is limited to heavenly things. The proof that this instruction is not sufficient for the morality to be observed between citizens, and especially between different groups of citizens, lies in the multitude of issues arising every day in which Your Majesty sees one part of your subjects seeking to vex another by exclusive privileges; with the result that your Council is forced to quash these requests and proscribe as unjust the pretexts they invoke.
Your kingdom, Sire, is of this world. It is over the earthly conduct of your subjects, towards one another and towards the state, that Your Majesty is obliged to watch for the sake of your conscience and the welfare of your crown. I do not wish to place any obstacle in the way of that instruction which has a higher object, and which already has its rules and ministers completely established. Quite the contrary. Nevertheless, I do not believe I can propose anything more advantageous for your people, more conducive to the maintenance of peace and good order and to the encouragement of all useful works, more fitting to make your authority cherished and your person daily more dear to the hearts of your subjects, than to provide them all with an education which clearly shows them their obligations towards society and towards your power which protects it, the duties which these obligations impose upon them, and the interest they have in fulfilling these duties for the public good, as for their own. This moral and social instruction demands textbooks written expressly for the purpose, in open competition and with great care, and a schoolmaster in each parish who will teach them to the children, together with reading, writing, arithmetic, measurement, and the principles of mechanics.
More learned instruction, progressively embracing the knowledge necessary for the citizens whose position requires more extensive enlightenment, would be taught in the secondary schools. But it would follow the same principles, more fully developed according to the functions which the rank of the students fits them to fill in society.
If Your Majesty approves this plan, Sire, I shall submit for your consideration a special memorandum containing the relevant details. But I dare to assert that ten years from now, your nation would be unrecognizable; and that, by virtue of its intelligence, its good customs, its enlightened zeal for your service and for that of the country, it would be infinitely superior to all other peoples past and present. Children who are now ten years old would then find themselves men of twenty, prepared for the state, attached to the country, submissive to authority not from fear, but by reason supportive of their fellow citizens, accustomed to knowing and respecting the justice which is the first foundation of societies.
Such men will act well within their families, and will doubtless raise families that will be easy to govern in the villages to which they belong.