Whoever possesses capital is an aristocrat， even the smallest amount in money or in kind， a field， a roof over his head， half-a-dozen silver spoons given to him by his parents on his wedding-day， an old woollen stocking into which twenty or thirty crowns have been dropped one by one， all one's savings， whatever has been laid by or economized， a petty assortment of eatables or merchandise， one's crop for the year and stock of groceries， especially if， disliking to give them up and letting his dissatisfaction be seen， he， through revolutionary taxation and requisitions， through the maximum and the confiscation of the precious metals， is constrained to surrender his small savings gratis， or at half their value. - Fundamentally， it is only those who have nothing of their own that are held to be patriots， those who live from day to day，[93] "the wretched，" the poor， vagabonds， and the famished； the humblest laborer， the least instructed， the most ill at his ease， is treated as criminal， as an enemy， as soon as he is suspected of having some resources； in vain does he show his scarified or callous hands； he escapes neither spoliation， the prison， nor the guillotine. At Troyes， a poor shop-girl who had set up a small business on borrowed money， but who is ruined by a bankruptcy and completely so by the maximum， infirm， and consuming piecemeal the rest of her stock， is taxed five hundred livres.[94] In the villages of Alsace， an order is issued to arrest the five， six or seven richest persons in the commune， even if there are no rich； consequently， they seize the least poor， simply because they are so； for instance， at Heiligenberg， six "farmers" one of whom is a day-laborer， "or journey-man，" "suspect，" says the register of the jail， "because he is comfortably off."[95] On this account nowhere are there so many "suspects" as among the people； the shop， the farm and the work-room harbor more aristocrats than the rectory and the chateau. In effect， according to the Jacobins，[96] "nearly all farmers are aristocrats；" "the merchants are all essentially anti-revolutionary，"[97] and especially all dealers in articles of prime necessity， wine-merchants， bakers and butchers； the latter especially are open "conspirators，" enemies "of the interior，" and " whose aristocracy is insupportable." Such， already， among the lower class of people， are the many delinquents who are punished.
But there are still more of them to punish， for， besides the crime of not being destitute， of possessing some property， of withholding articles necessary for existence， there is the crime of aristocracy， necessarily so called， namely， repugnance to， lack of zeal， or even indifference for the established régime， regret for the old one， relationship or intercourse with a condemned or imprisoned émigré of the upper class， services rendered to some outlaw， the resort to some priest； now， numbers of poor farmers， mechanics， domestics and women servants， have committed this crime；[98] and in many provinces and in many of the large cities nearly the whole of the laboring population commits it and persists in it； such is the case， according to Jacobin reports， in Alsace， Franche-Comté， Provence， Vaucluse， Anjou， Poitou， Vendée， Brittany， Picardie and Flanders， and in Marseilles， Bordeaux and Lyons. In Lyons alone， writes Collot d'Herbois， "there are sixty thousand persons who never will become republicans. They should be dealt with， that is made redundant， and prudently distributed all over the surface of the Republic."[99] - Finally， add to the persons of the lower class， prosecuted on public grounds， those who are prosecuted on private grounds. Among peasants in the same village， workmen of the same trade and shopkeepers in the same quarter， there is always envy， enmities and spites； those who are Jacobins become local pashas and are able to gratify local jealousies with impunity， something they never fail to do.[100]
Hence， on the lists of the guillotined， the incarcerated and of emigrés， the men and women of inferior condition are in much greater number， far greater than their companions of the superior and middle classes all put together. Out of 12，000 condemned to death whose rank and professions have been ascertained， 7，545[101] are peasants， cultivators， ploughmen， workmen of various sorts， innkeepers， wine-dealers， soldiers and sailors， domestics， women， young girls， servants and seamstresses. Out of 1，900 emigrés from Doubs， nearly 1，100belong to the lower class. Towards the month of April， 1794， all the prisons in France overflow with farmers；[102] in the Paris prisons alone， two months before Thermidor 9， there are 2 000 of them.[103]