According to the new ideology all minds are within reach of all truths. If the mind does not grasp them the fault is ours in not being properly prepared； it will comprehend if we take the trouble to guide it properly. For it has senses the same as our own； and sensations， revived， combined and noted by signs， suffice to form "not only all our conceptions but again all our faculties."[6] An exact and constant relationship of ideas attaches our simplest perceptions to the most complex sciences， and， from the lowest to the highest degree， a scale is practicable； if the scholar stops on the way it is owing to our having left too great an interval between two degrees of the scale；let no intermediary degrees be omitted and he will mount to the top of it. To this exalted idea of the faculties of man is added a no less exalted idea of his heart. Rousseau having declared this to be naturally good， the refined class plunge into the belief with all the exaggerations of fashion and all the sentimentality of the drawing-room. The conviction is widespread that man， and especially the man of the people， is sensitive and affectionate by nature； that he is immediately impressed by benefactions and disposed to be grateful for them， that he softens at the slightest sign of interest in him， and that he is capable of every refinement. A series of engravings represents two children in a dilapidated cottage，[7] one five and the other three years old， by the side of an infirm grandmother， one supporting her head and the other giving her drink； the father and mother enter and， on seeing this touching incident， "these good people find themselves so happy in possessing such children they forget they are poor." "Oh， my father，" cries a shepherd youth of the Pyrénées，[8]
"accept this faithful dog， so true to me for seven years； in future let him follow and defend you， thus serving me better than in any other manner." It would require too much space to follow in the literature of the end of the century， from Marmontel to Bernardin de Saint-Pierre， and from Florian to Berquin and Bitaubé， the interminable repetition of these sweet insipidities. The illusion even reaches statesmen. "Sire，" says Turgot， on presenting the king with a plan of political education，[9] "I venture to assert that in ten years your nation will no longer be recognizable， and through enlightenment and good morals， in intelligent zeal for your service and for the country， it will rise above all other nations. Children who are now ten years of age will then be men prepared for the state， loving their country， submissive to authority， not through fear but through Reason， aiding their fellow-citizens， and accustomed to recognizing and respecting justice." - In the months of January， 1789，[10] Necker， to whom M. de Bouillé pointed out the imminent danger arising from the unswerving efforts of the Third-Estate ， "coldly replied， turning his eyes upward， 'reliance must be placed on the moral virtues of man.' "- In the main， on the imagination forming any conception of human society， this consists of a vague， semi-bucolic， semi-theatrical scene， somewhat resembling those displayed on the frontispieces of illustrated works on morals and politics. Half-naked men with others clothed in skins， assemble together under a large oak tree； in the center of the group a venerable old man arises and makes an address， using "the language of nature and Reason，" proposing that all should be united， and explaining how men are bound together by mutual obligations； he shows them the harmony of private and of public interests， and ends by making them appreciate of the beauty of virtue.[11] All utter shouts of joy， embrace each other， gather round the speaker and elect him chief magistrate； dancing is going on under the branches in the background， and henceforth happiness on earth is fully established. - This is no exaggeration. The National Assembly addresses the nation in harangues of this style. For many years the government speaks to the people as it would to one of Gessner's shepherds. The peasants are entreated not to burn castles because it is painful for their good king to see such sights. They are exhorted "to surprise him with their virtues in order that he may be the sooner rewarded for his own."[12] At the height of the Jacquerie tumults the sages of the day seem to think they are living in a state of pastoral simplicity， and that with an air on the flute they may restore to its fold the howling pack of bestial animosities and unchained appetitesIII. OUR TRUE HUMAN NATURE.
The inadequacy and fragility of reason in man. - The rarity and inadequacy of reason in humanity. - Subordination of reason in human conduct. - Brutal and dangerous forces. - The nature and utility of government. Government impossible under the new theory.
It is a sad thing to fall asleep in a sheep-shed and， on awakening， to find the sheep transformed into wolves； and yet， in the event of a revolution that is what we may expect. What we call reason in Man is not an innate endowment， basic and enduring， but a tardy acquisition and a fragile composition. The slightest physiological knowledge will tell us that it is a precarious act of balance， dependent on the no less greater instability of the brain， nerves， circulation and digestion. Take women that are hungry and men that have been drinking； place a thousand of these together， and let them excite each other with their cries， their anxieties， and the contagious reaction of their ever-deepening emotions； it will not be long before you find them a crowd of dangerous maniacs. This becomes evident， and abundantly so， after 1789. - Now， consult psychology.
