Comte

“ I replied that I had not that honour; and was indeed an utter stranger to every inhabitant of Falaise. I then stated, in as few and precise words as possible, the particular object of my visit to the Continent. "Cela suffit"--resumed the unknown--"nous irons faire visite à Monsieur le Comte après le diné; à ce moment il s'occupe avec le pôtage--car c'est un jour maigre. Il sera charmé de vous recevoir. Il aime infiniment les Anglois, et il a resté long-temps chez vous. C'est un brave homme--et même un grand antiquaire." ”

“ Your Majesty has only to give your orders."
"Oh, ho!" cried the King, who would have been only too glad to refer all the blame to the Comte or Comtesse de Provence, whom he disliked, "since when, pray, have the sons of France or their wives been used to write letters to the King instead of appearing in person at his 'lever'?" ”

“ My lord,” said the Comte de la Fere, “you are an noble Englishman, you are a loyal man; you are speaking to a noble Frenchman, to a man of heart. The gold contained in these two casks before us, I have told you was mine. ”

“ There is so much that is admirable, and so many things at the same time that traverse one's most cherished opinions,—prejudices, a Comtist would doubtless say,—in the system of Comte, that it becomes a matter of no ordinary difficulty to renew Mr. ”

“ Comte, in particular, whose social system, as unfolded in his Système de Politique Positive, aims at establishing (though by moral more than by legal appliances) a despotism of society over the individual, surpassing anything contemplated in the political ideal of the most rigid disciplinarian among the ancient philosophers. ”

“ If unity of career, then, means that Comte from the beginning designed the institution of a spiritual power and the systematic reorganisation of life, it is difficult to deny him whatever credit that unity may be worth, and the credit is perhaps not particularly great. ”

“ Comte separates the collective facts of society and history from the individual phenomena of biology; then he withdraws these collective facts from the region of external volition, and places them in the region of law. The facts of history must be explained, not by providential interventions, but by referring them to conditions inherent in the successive stages of social existence. This conception makes a science of society possible. ”

“ The Positive Philosophy opens with the statement of a certain law of which Comte was the discoverer, and which has always been treated both by disciples and dissidents as the key to his system. This is the Law of the Three States. It is as follows. Each of our leading conceptions, each branch of our knowledge, passes successively through three different phases; there are three different ways in which the human mind explains phenomena, each way following the other in order. ”

“ Reciprocally this continued service, while strengthening our true unity, renders us at once both happier and better.
The exaltation of Humanity into the throne occupied by the Supreme Being under monotheistic systems made all the rest of Comte's construction easy enough. Utility remains the test of every institution, impulse, act; his fabric becomes substantially an arch of utilitarian propositions, with an artificial Great Being inserted at the top to keep them in their place. The Comtist system is utilitarianism crowned by a fantastic decoration. ”

“ Duke. 'Tis true, indulgency and flattery take away the benefit of experience from princes, which ennobles the fortunes of private men.
Leo. But you are a duke, sir; and this descent from your honour will undervalue you.
Duke. Not a whit. I am so toiled out with grand affairs and despatching of embassages, that I am ready to sink under the burden. Why may not an Atlas of state, such as myself, that bears up the weight of a commonwealth, now and then, for recreation's sake, be glad to ease his shoulders? Has not Jupiter thrown away his rays and his thunder to walk among mortals? ”

“ Go down to the flounder; king I am, now I must be emperor.’
‘Alas! wife,’ said the fisherman, ‘why do you want to be emperor?’
‘Husband,’ said she, ‘go to the flounder; I will be emperor.’
‘Ah, wife,’ he said, ‘he cannot make you emperor; I don’t like to ask him that. There is only one emperor in the kingdom. Indeed and indeed he cannot make you emperor.’
‘What!’ said his wife. ‘I am king, and you are my husband. Will you go at once? Go! If he can make king he can make emperor, and emperor I must and will be. ”

“ As for myself, I am a republican at heart, although I follow the Emperor. I, too, care little for the distinctions of rank, for titles, yet I have earned a title in the service of the Emperor. Through him, even humble men rise high and go far. ”

“ There are viceroys, princes, governors, sub-governors, sub-sub-governors, and a hundred orders of nobility, grading along down from grand-ducal archangels, stage by stage, till the general level is struck, where there ain’t any titles. Do you know what a prince of the blood is, on earth? ”

“ Finally, at the supreme bar have the princes, the governors and captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to learn that not the president, not the grand duke, not the king, not the emperor, is the head of the nation, but the thrice-crowned King of kings, the Great High Priest of God. ”

“ When the Duke of Loo asked about government, the master said: "Good government exists when those who are near are made happy, and when those who are far off are attracted." When the Duke questioned him again on the same subject, he replied: "Go before the people with your example, and be laborious in their affairs.... Pardon small faults, and raise to office men of virtue and talents." "But how shall I know the men of virtue?" asked the duke. ”

“ When the images of the Emperor are sent down and brought into a city, its rulers and multitude go out to meet them with carefulness and reverence, not honouring the tablet or the representation moulded in wax, but the standing of the Emperor. ”

“ But lo! coolly putting on the robes of office, as if he had but just cast them aside, with the air of a prince, Lí signified to the great academician Ho his readiness now to obey the mandate of the emperor.
Entering the hall of audience with all the grace and ease of a man bred in courts, Lí advanced to the throne, and after paying the customary homage, rose to his feet and looked proudly around upon the assembly of grave men and gallant courtiers. ”

“ But if he fails to execute this my royal command, then, as a just but mild monarch, I shall give orders that you and he are taken, and first dipped in tar and then in feathers, and you shall be executed in the market-place for the entertainment of my courtiers.’
And a smile played round the King’s lips as he finished speaking, and his courtiers and counsellors shook with laughter when they thought of the old woman’s folly, and praised the King’s wise device, and said to each other, ‘What a joke it will be when we see the pair of them tarred and feathered! ”

“ Consider the contents of the Red book in England, or the Almanac royale of France, and say what a people gain by monarchy. No race of kings has ever presented above one man of common sense in twenty generations. The best they can do is, to leave things to their ministers; and what are their ministers, but a committee, badly chosen? If the king ever meddles, it is to do harm. Adieu, my dear Sir, and be assured of the esteem of your friend and servant.
TO COLONEL MONROE. Paris, August 5, 1787. ”

“ The countess blushed; and the monarch, with the easy unembarrassment and politeness of a practised gallant, stooped to fasten the unfortunate riband. As the nobles beheld the sovereign kneel with the foot of the fair countess on his knee, a hardly suppressed smile ran through the assembly. But, observing the smile upon the face of his nobles, the monarch rose proudly, and, with the garter in his hand, exclaimed, "Honi soit qui mal y pense!"—"Shame be to him who thinks ill of it!" ”

“ I hope we may be of some use to our country without being ministers of state. But let that pass. As long as the Duke lives, he is omnipotent, and will have his way. If you come into Parliament now, and show any disposition for office, you may rely upon it you will not long be unemployed. ”

“ The king appoints to all public offices, and can dismiss at pleasure his council of state and other Government functionaries, the highest officials of church and state, the heads of the army, and the commandants of fortresses. ”

“ Upon this, the Duke, of course, favoured them with an oration also, and a curious piece of composition it was; consisting of a series of pleasantries upon the Parliament, upon Mazarin, upon himself, upon the Court, and upon everything, mingled with a few apophthegms upon policy, religion, and morals, which all tended to captivate the people, and make them think him wondrous wise, without tending in the least to calm them, or reduce them to order and decency. ”

“ No one shall tell false news or lies about prelates, dukes, earls, barons, and other nobles and great men or the Chancellor, Treasurer, a Justice, Clerk of the Privy Seal, Steward of the King's house whereby debates and discords might arise between these lords or between the lords and the commons. ”

“ And I say to you, Charles, and to you, Frederick, Kings, and to you, ye other Princes and Tyrants, see who sits by the side of you in council, and count how many times a day this aim of human life is indicated to you by your councillors. ”

“ To judge impartially we must take into account the influence which time and circumstances exercise on men; and distinguish between the different characters of the Collegian, the General, the Consul, and the Emperor. ”

“ But show us in—I'm sure the Emperor will receive us, even in his present state"
"The Emperor's state is always magnificent," said the man. "But I will venture to tell him of your arrival, and will receive his commands concerning you." ”

“ The duke said, 'The former king laid bare his heart, and gave full charge to you, constituting you one of the guides and patterns for the people, saying, "Do you with intelligence and energy second and help the king; do you with sincerity support and convey forward the great decree. Think of the virtue of king Wăn, and enter greatly into his boundless anxieties." ”

“ The Emperor, in abdicating, has offered himself a sacrifice. The members of the Government devote themselves to the due execution of the authority with which they have been invested by your representatives. ”

“ You shall to your utmost bear faith and allegiance to the King's majesty, his heirs and lawful successors, and shall assist and defend jurisdictions and authorities granted unto his Majesty and annext unto the Crown, against all foreign princes, persons, prelates or potentates whatsoever, be it by act of Parliament or otherwise, and generally in all things you shall be as a faithful and true servant and subject ought to do. ”

“ You have already heard the will of the Chiefs respecting the presents and payments from Government. Brother, we have heard you speak of the Governor. It is to him we look; when we hear of him our hearts are glad. ”

“ The most aged and experienced, to the number of 100, were also chosen, whom the monarch might consult in matters of the highest importance, and from their age they were called senators, and from their authority patres. The whole body of the people were also distinguished by the name of patricians and plebeians, patron and client, who by mutual interest were induced to preserve the peace of the state, and to promote the public good. ”

“ It seemed to us, Very Excellent Princes, that, for the sake of peace and concord amongst us, and in order to govern us well, it was necessary to install a person for Your Royal service to act in the name of Your Majesties in the said town, and in these parts as Chief Justice, and Captain, and head, whom we could all respect and obey until we might give account of everything to Your Royal Highnesses, so that you could provide as best suited your service. ”

“ A duke has a right to a canopy, or cloth of state, in all places where the king is not present; a viscount may have one in his house; a baron has a cover of assay, which may be held under his cup while he drinks. ”

“ Millions of British subjects have never heard of Imperial Parliament, or Cabinet, or Prime Minister, but there are none to whom the monarch is not a real, if confusedly apprehended, existence. In his name all the acts of rule in their own lands are done ”

“ So that it is easy enough, either for the French King or the Emperor, to appoint persons in any of the said courts or Parliaments to hear any cause that the princes shall think good to appoint and commit unto them. ”

“ With such a minister and such a Parliament, let us suppose a prince upon the throne, either from want of true information or for some other reason, ignorant and unacquainted with the inclinations and the interest of his people, weak, and hurried away by unbounded ambition and insatiable avarice. ”

“ The lords and commons have sufficient authority, without your consent, to appoint a king: but I require you here to declare, in plain terms, whether or not you will have the duke of Glocester for your sovereign. ”

“ This second form began to manifest itself in the Lower Status of barbarism, after confederacies were formed, and it became definite in the Middle Status. The office of general, or principal military commander, was the germ of that of a chief executive magistrate, the king, the emperor, and the president. It may be called a government of two powers, namely, the council of chiefs, and the general. ”

“ The Emperor presents no aspect of excess of any sort, but on the contrary appears like one conscious of his great responsibility and actuated by a calm conscientious resolve to fulfil its requirements. "What King so strong can tie the gall up in the slanderous tongue?" ”