Three classes， the nobles， the clergy and the bourgeoisie， provided this superior élite， and， compared with the rest of the nation， they themselves formed an élite. - Thirty thousand gentlemen， scattered through the provinces， had been brought up from infancy to the profession of arms； generally poor， they lived on their rural estates without luxuries， comforts or curiosity， in the society of wood-rangers and game-keepers， frugally and with rustic habits， in the open air， in such a way as to ensure robust constitutions. A child， at six years of age， mounted a horse； he followed the hounds， and hardened himself against inclemencies；[62] afterwards， in the academies， he rendered his limbs supple by exercise and obtained that rugged health which is necessary for living under a tent and following a campaign.
From early childhood， he was imbued with a military spirit； his father and uncles at table talked of nothing but their perils in war and feats of arms； his imagination took fire； he got accustomed to looking upon their pursuits as the only ones worthy of a man of rank and feeling， and he plunged ahead with a precocity which we no longer comprehend. I have read many records of the service of gentlemen who were assassinated， guillotined or emigrés； they nearly always began their careers before the age of sixteen， often at fourteen， thirteen and eleven.[63] M. des Echerolles，[64] captain in the Poitou regiment， had brought along with him into the army his only son， aged nine， and a dozen little cousins of the same age. Those children fought like old soldiers； one of them had his leg fractured by a ball；young des Echerolles received a saber stroke which cut away his cheek from the ear to the upper lip， and he was wounded seven times； still young， he received the cross of St. Louis. To serve the State， seek conflict and expose one's life， seemed an obligation of their rank， a hereditary debt； out of nine or ten thousand officers who discharged this debt most of them cared only for this and looked for nothing beyond. Without fortune and without influence， they had renounced promotion， fully aware that the higher ranks were reserved for the heirs of great families and the courtiers at Versailles. After serving fifteen or twenty years， they returned home with a captain's commission and the cross of St. Louis， sometimes with a small pension， contented with having done their duty and conscious of their own honor. On the approach of the Revolution， this old spirit， illumined by the new ideas， became an almost civic virtue：[65] we have seen how they behaved between 1789 and 1792， their moderation， their forbearance， their sacrifice of self-love， their abnegation and their stoical impassability， their dislike to strike， the coolness with which they persisted in receiving without returning blows， and in maintaining， if not public order， at least the last semblance of it.
Patriots as much as soldiers， through birth， education and conviction， they formed a natural， special nursery， eminently worthy of preserving， inasmuch as it furnished society with ready-made instruments for defense， internally against rascals and brutes， and externally against the enemy. Less calm in disposition and more given to pleasure than the rural nobles of Prussia， under slacker discipline and in the midst of greater worldliness， but more genial， more courteous and more liberal-minded， the twenty-six thousand noble families of France upheld in their sons the traditions and prejudices， the habits and aptitudes， those energies of body， heart and mind[66]
through which the Prussian "junkers" were able to constitute the Prussian army， organize the German army and make Germany the first power of Europe.
IV. The Clergy.
Where recruited. - Professional inducements. - Independence of ecclesiastics. - Their substantial merits. - Their theoretical and practical information. - Their distribution over the territory. -Utility of their office. - Their conduct in 1790-1800. - Their courage， their capacity for self-sacrifice.
Likewise in the Church where nearly all its staff， the whole of the lower and middle-class clergy， curés， vicars， canons and collegiate chaplains， teachers or directors of schools， colleges and seminaries， more than sixty-five thousand ecclesiastics， formed a healthy， well organized body， worthily fulfilling its duties.
"I do not know，" says de Tocqueville，[67] "all in all， and notwithstanding the vices of some of its members， if there ever was in the world a more remarkable clergy than the Catholic clergy of France when the Revolution took them by surprise， more enlightened， more national， less entrenched behind their private virtues， better endowed with public virtues， and， at the same time， more strong in the faith.
. . . I began the study of the old social system full of prejudices against them； I finish it full of respect for them."And first， which is a great point， most of the incumbents in the town parishes， in the three hundred collegial churches， in the small canonicates of the cathedral chapters， belonged to better families than at the present day.[68] Children were then more numerous， not merely among the peasants， but among the inferior nobles and the upper bourgeoisie； each family， accordingly， was glad to have one of its sons take orders， and no constraint was necessary to bring this about.