Rivarol，[31] himself a skeptic， declares that at the approach of the Revolution， "the enlightenment of the clergy equaled that of the philosophers." "Who would believe it， but body with the fewest prejudices，" says Mercier，[32] "is the clergy." And the Archbishop of Narbonne， explaining the resistance of the upper class of the clergy in I791[33] attributes it， not to faith but to a point of honor. "We conducted ourselves at that time like true gentlemen， for， with most of us， it could not be said that it was through religious feeling."V.POLITICAL OPPOSITION.
Progress of political opposition. - Its origin. - The economists and the parliamentarians. - They prepare the way for the philosophers. - Political fault-finding in the drawing-rooms. -Female liberalism.
The distance between the altar and the throne is a short one，and yet it requires thirty years for opinion to overcome it. No political or social attacks are yet made during the first half of the century. The irony of the "Lettres Persanes"is as cautious as it is delicate， and the " Esprit des Lois" is conservative. As to the Abbéde Saint-Pierre his reveries provoke a smile， and when he undertakes to censure Louis XIV the Academy strikes him off its list. At last， the economists on one side and the parliamentarians on the other， give the signal. - Voltaire says[34] that "about 1750 the nation， satiated with verse， tragedies， comedies， novels， operas， romantic histories， and still more romantic moralizings， and with disputes about grace and convulsions， began to discuss the question of corn."What makes bread dear？ Why is the laborer so miserable？ What constitutes the material and limits of taxation？ Ought not all land to pay taxes， and should one piece pay more than its net product？ These are the questions that find their way into drawing-rooms under the king's auspices， by means of Quesnay， his physician， "his thinker，"the founder of a system which aggrandizes the sovereign to relieve the people， and which multiplies the number of tax-payers to lighten the burden of taxation.- At the same time， through the opposite door， other questions enter， not less novel. "Is France[35] a mild and representative monarchy or a government of the Turkish stamp？ Are we subject to the will of an absolute master， or are we governed by a limited and regulated power？ . . . The exiled parliaments are studying public rights at their sources and conferring together on these as in the academies. Through their researches， the opinion is gaining ground in the public mind that the nation is above the king， as the universal church is above the pope." - The change is striking and almost immediate. "Fifty years ago，" says d'Argenson， again， "the public showed no curiosity concerning matters of the State. Today everybody reads his Gazette de Paris， even in the provinces. People reason at random on political subjects， but nevertheless they occupy themselves with them." - Conversation having once provided itself with this diet holds fast to it， the drawing-rooms， accordingly， opening their doors to political philosophy， and， consequently， to the Social Contract， to the Encyclopedia， to the preachings of Rousseau， Mably， d'Holbach， Raynal， and Diderot. In 1759， d'Argenson， who becomes excited， already thinks the last hour has come. "We feel the breath of a philosophical anti-monarchical， free government wind； the idea is current， and possibly this form of government， already in some minds， is to be carried out the first favorable opportunity. Perhaps the revolution might take place with less opposition than one supposes， occurring by acclamation.[36]
The time is not yet come， but the seed is coming up. Bachaumont， in 1762， notices a deluge of pamphlets， tracts and political discussions， "a rage for arguing on financial and government matters."In 1765， Walpole states that the atheists， who then monopolize conversation， inveigh against kings as well as against priests. Aformidable word， that of citizen， imported by Rousseau， has entered into common speech， and the matter is settled on the women adopting it as they would a cockade. "As a friend and a citoyenne could any news be more agreeable to me than that of peace and the health of my dear little one？"[37] Another word， not less significant， that of energy， formerly ridiculous， becomes fashionable， and is used on every occasion[38]. Along with language there is a change of sentiment， ladies of high rank passing over to the opposition. In 1771， says the scoffer Bezenval， after the exile of the Parliament "social meetings for pleasure or other purposes had become petty States-Generals in which the women， transformed into legislators， established the premises and confidently propounded maxims of public right." The Comtesse d'Egmont， a correspondent of the King of Sweden， sends him a paper on the fundamental law of France， favoring the Parliament， the last defender of national liberty， against the encroachments of Chancellor Maupeou. "The Chancellor，" she says，[39] "within the last six months has brought people to know the history of France who would have died without any knowledge of it. . . . I have no doubt， sire，" she adds， "that you never will abuse the power an enraptured people have entrusted to you without limitation. . . . May your reign prove the epoch of the re-establishment of a free and independent government， but never the source of absolute authority."Numbers of women of the first rank， Mesdames de la Marck， de Boufflers， de Brienne， de Mesmes， de Luxembourg， de Croy， think and write in the same style. "Absolute power，" says one of these， "is a mortal malady which， insensibly corrupting moral qualities， ends in the destruction of states. . . . The actions of sovereigns are subject to the censure of their subjects as to that of the universe.
. . . France is undone if the present administration lasts."[40]